НЕ FUTURE Oi INTERACTIVE АТТЫ UK EDITION MARCH 20083.50 ® |
|
Б NS
БИНТ Лл CAST mi \YS TATION NUN".
PS2 prepares for lift-off
Exclusive: hottest new titles from Japan |
and US plus online strategies revealed v
Speedball 2100
The Bitmap Brothers finally bounce back
Nintendo talks Dolphin
Wondersystem's first title unveiled |
E.
Previewed Power Stone 2 | The World Is Not Enough | Evergrace | Driving Emotion Type-S
Reviewed Crazy Taxi | The Sims | Rollcage Stage II | Berserk | Mario Party 2 | Beetle Crazy Cup
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ЕМТЕН THE FUTURE OF INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT
f someone offered you the opportunity to
EX go and watch a football match on a Saturday
afternoon, only with the pitch markings redrawn
and the rules turned upside down, you'd be
forgiven for returning to your pint of beer or the
lawnmower. in the same way football aficionados
balked at America's request to turn it from a game
of two halves into one of four quarters (to allow
for TV ad breaks) when the nation hosted the World
Cup in 1994, fans do not take kindly to rules being
tinkered with. No, rules exist for a purpose. And
that's one of the chief reasons why videogames
that attempt to invent new sports - future sports,
as they like to be termed - so frequently, and
spectacularly, crash and burn.
But not Speedball Il, the Bitmap Brothers’ finest
moment. Here was a game somehow capable of
writing a new rule book that hundreds of thousands
of 16bit computer gamers would come to learn, play
by, and worship. But that was some ten years ago.
In an industry groaning under the oppressive
weight of franchises and sequels, perhaps the
biggest surprise concerning Speedball II is that
it's taken so long for the concept to be given
another run out on the pitch. But this month one
of Edge's correspondents became the first person
outside of The Bitmaps to sample high-speed silver-
ball sports action in its 2000 (or rather '2100") guise.
The report on p34 should serve to ease the minds
of those as anxious to see the developer's new
work doing justice to the original as they are their
favoured football team performing well in the cup.
Speaking of cups, Edge is handing out its
annual awards this month (see p54). If only there
was a most-anticipated sequel category, there
would surely be only one title in the running...
Future ек
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Fifth colour Pantone & cor HTT / жайға 84:70
Special thanks hri астана
Edge recog
Shen mue 36 The definitive story behind the spectacular illusion
| that is the most ambitious Dreamcast game yet
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Edge investigates whether
© Future Publahing 2000 or not big equates to better
THE SIMS
CRAZY TAXI NOX
ROLLCAGE STAGE Il
BEETLE CRAZY CUP
BERSERK
MARIO PARTY 2
PRESCREEN 12
EA brings back Bond, Capcom unearths a
new precious stone, Rare prepares for glory
POWER STONE 2 (0
PERFECT DARK !!
m iD i Y ПІ И
13
65 "e stscreen
7/5 Edge Moves
four chance to be part of the videogame industry
105 | Seve op
116 Retroview
| PixeiPertect, Ade _aness, senior designer a
UK, recounts the Уз ot Stor War:
as shackled to a butcher's shop
118 ons · Ther e
ЕН
124 ViewPoint
волети o)
onses to Edge
130 Next Month
NEWS
Cutting Edge. e
The latest news from the world of interactive entertainment
Edge
Cutting |
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| Mert ce Ll
SQUARE UNVEILS ONLINE FUTURE А5 PS2 LAUNCH NEARS
Japanese superpublisher turns fortunes to wide-ranging new Internet service, confirms three new Final Fantasy titles
Open to both trade and public,
Square's Millennium event in
Yokohama attracted thousands
Square CEO Tomoyuki Takechi headed up the Millennium
conference, which sent noises through the game industry
ЕЗ quareSoft has announced an ambitious and far
reaching new service entitled Play Online, to be
launched in Japan їп 2001. The network 15 expected to
thar anything yet attempted by a videogame publisher.
Гле project was made the star of the Square Millennium
conference held in Yokohama, Japan. Stunned attendees
heard how Play Online is being created to transform the
Final Fantasy series into an Internet RPG. It will enable a
Most attendees were keener to get a taste of
FFIX than they were Square's online strategies
three-titie transition — Final Fantasy ІХ, reieas sed on
Playstation in Japan this summer, will бе the last pure y
standalone RPG; Final Fantasy X and XI (due out In sornim
and winter 2001 respectively) will be PlayStationz ANE
optimised for the new Play Online service.
And the plans for Play Online extend far beyond
games. Full e-commerce facilities will allow users to browse
virtual bookstores and records shops complete with 3D
кесі гана М В he 1. қаш p ге ЕЗ
merchandise. № will be possible to buy апа download music
Play Online project director Sakaguchi Hironobu (above left) evangelised Square's network plans, while Motomiya Hiroshi
(above centre), creator of legendary Japanese manga strip ‘Salaryman Kintaro, lent his weight to the ambitious initiative
ма the service. There's even talk about live concerts being
broadcast across the Play Online network. Comics апа
news reports will be made available online, toa
wo manga series, зат DUNK and Kintaro, nave already
Deen confirmed. Play Online's prototype interface looks
stunning = fully animated with а beguiling aquatic theme,
simpler and prettier than most westem efforts.
Foremost, the service 15 a skeleton to Support the
па ен пи ee m, ‚аы = È ғ Ces! Carran на ја и чал!
persistent online world that the Final Fantasy series will
^
become – other games will follow via the system. Once you
have logged on to Play Online, fellow gamers will be able to
locate you througnout the network = ever IF you re not
plaving a game. Instant messaging will enable Play Online
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users to call up friends to join them in battle
for fear of losing gamers to the other attractions of the Net
This is Square's method of gaining from both aspects.
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ccessible within Play Online. It will also look to bring the
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with sause s 3D experts так ing Care of the visual
for the service extend far beyond games. Full e-commerce will allow users
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Square subsidiary DigiCube will handle e-distribution and e-commerce, which will expand the potential of
Play Online beyond gaming and into the wider market, covering shopping, music, sport, and online comics, etc
NEWS
Debug PlayStation2 consoles
powered a number of demos
at the Millennium event
EDGE 07 №
МЕМ/5
4 short movie previewed at the Square
Millennium event gave а taste of what
Square imagines gamers will be doing
іп December 2001, А уоште Japanese
boy and а girl switch on a PlayStationa,
linked up to а 19-inch flat-screen TFT
display. Play Online appears and they
fire off a few emails before indulging
in a spot of realtime chat.
They elect to play Final Fantasy ХІ.
The томе continues with the two
young gamers in action. Enemies soon
thwart progress through the һі-гез 3D
Zeida-style world and the need for
reinforcements becomes clear. The
young girl phones a friend. Нв 15 near
an Internet café, He loads up Ғіпа!
Fantasy ХІ. Because tne Firral Fantasy
Xi world 15 persistent and the friend
saved his last game far from the other
two players, he has no choice but to
run to their assistance. In real time.
While waiting, they amuse
themselves with a few of the other
facilities offered by Play Online. The giri
is content to watch the latest sports
news, The boy buys some music from
Square's record shop, downloading it.
He then reads a digital manga comic
called ‘Siam Dunk’ which he buys
{гот a Square newsagent.
At last, the third player arrives at
the rendezvous point. Above their
heads ће sees speech bubbles which
show their preoccupations: He knocks
on their bodies to attract their
attention and they quit to rejoin the
game. Then the three go ОН to battle.
4 05 EDGE
While Square's Millennium celebrations gathered steam, several PS2 developments came to light, including a
delay for Polyphony's GT2000 (top left) – the game will now ship] in Japan in the autumn. Meanwhile, Namco's
Tekken Tag Tournament (top row, second) has been pushed bac
from launch to March 30. 'Safer' options,
such as О Story (above left), Stepping Stage (above, second), Fantavision (above, third), АП Star Professional
Wrestling Ring (top, third) and Gekikokan Pro Baseball (top right) will happily make it for March 4, however.
Most early PS2 titles will ship on CD-ROM, but titles such as Onimusha (а
ove right) may use DVD's potential
presentation of the merchandise itself
Square has also teamed up with NTT Communications
Corporation of the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone
Corporation Group. Details of this partnership have yet
to be revealed. Square may wish to have its own fast,
broadband network distinct from the Internet, similar
to that p ered by British Telecom $ Wireplay service
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It might seem incredible to hear SquareSoft
speak of Final Fantasy ХІ, Dut the roadmap
actually reveals litte about the future game's
content. And no significant new details have
been confirmed about The Bouncer, Racing
Emotion Type-S (see p24) or any of its other
eagerly awalted PlayStation? titles.
Final Fantasy ІХ (shown here) is another outing for the ЕРУШІ engine, but many
gamers will be pleased to see the series return 10 its kawai roots with more fantasy-style
graphics. The СО! movies are as stunning as ever, hinting at an aerial world embroiled іп
dragon warfare. More details should come at the Tokyo Game Show this month.
Square has said that Final Fantasy X will be set in a free-roaming, realtime 3D world.
As in the рге-РАХ games, multiple characters in a team will be absorbed into the team
leader's body and reappear for battles: Final Fantasy X will be compatible with Play
Online's more basic networking features, Final Fantasy ХІ, subtitled Online Another
that they are looking at online development, but Square's
upcoming service remains unique and seems certain to
enter into head-to-head competition with Sony's own
proposed PlayStation? network
In the west, proprietary networks such as MSN
and AOL have eventually become portals to the internet,
and this could be the inevitable route that game networks
go in Japan. IF Square's model works, expect its unique —
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elements (see 'How it works) to be borrowed here. 1 ==
аса ta ch 2 “
the e system wil interface with devices such pa Palm pilot and mobiles,
кеп саге of Dy DigiCub
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World, will essentially be a fully online
version of Final Fantasy X but with
massive multiplayer capabilities and
teaturing many of the creatures and
characters from its previous tities.
Square has also given a sneak glimpse
of the upcoming ‘Final Fantasy’ movie.
Looking somewhat akin to ‘The Matrix’,
it Underscores Square's mastery of
distinctive CG-generated animation.
МЕМ/5
DOLPHIN POISED ТО STEAL PS2 THUNDER?
Is Nintendo planning 128bit hardware revelations as Sony readies for Japanese market?
ІЗ peculation |6 growing that Nintendo will unvell its
next-generation Dolphin hardware in the next few
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Weeks = 95 a Spoiler for the launch of Sony's PlayStation.
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Development sources in the US suggest Nintendo w
full specifications for the new
system's RAM, audio and storage capabilities. Тһе CPU 15
DEINE Custom maue by IBM, with graphics chips designed
Бу Silicon Valley-based ArtX and manufactured by NEC
PlayStation2 goes on sale on March 4 in Japan, апа
Nintendo could wait five days before revealing Dolphin at San
Jose's Game Developer Conference – although it has no тва!
presence reserved at the Sega-dominated event. More likely
5 a big announcement at a special event on home turf, with
romanced thro
key industry figures
5000 ( yrt | ТОГ th Z = МД, апа im trie 1 West. Retro * Stud 105 М 57. Left
Field Studios, Миа? у Асса and Rare аге all Known to
De working on Dolphin TUES Retro is concentrating оп
development tools, Midway 15 understood to have as many
as half a dozen titles in development, while Acclaim has Created using the developer's own SAGE middleware, Saffire is targeting PS2 as well as Dolphin.
The shots on this page give an idea of what the developer believes Nintendo's console can do
signed up to produce a launch title. LucasArts, meanwhile,
has said it is in the process of evaluating the platform
Nintendo has traditionally put software first, delaying "| don't like showing demos that are not games. Not to cast
3unch of the №4 to finish Super Mario &4. It rarely pushes aspersions on Sony's ‘Ducky ina Bathtub’ which | thought
; А { manum Тартар. П | z "
misleading or rushed software on its audience, and Doiphin wi was really cute, but it doesn't say much about the system
be no different. "1 don't like showing demos that are not games,”
admits Ят Merrick, software engineering manager of Nintendo Nintendo and МЕС joint £ 1.8bn RAM and graphics
US. "Not to cast aspersions an Sony's ‘Ducky in a Bathtub’, which fabrication facility is planned to be running by summer. Any
i thought was really cute, but it doesn't tell you much about the delay їп finalising а strategy would point at the moribund
system as a machine. I'd rather walt and show you a game." Japanese market, where a 20-year affair with conventional
Despite the №64'5 decline as a credible gaming platform over games software seems to have ended
the past 12 months, Nintendo remains confident. Executive vice The answer from Sega and Sony is to centre plans on the Net
president of sales and marketing Peter Main told stock market — which 15 Sure to chill Nintendo, not least given the ongoing saga
analysts in January that Nintendo was watching and learning from of the blundered 6400. Kyoto seems more likely to look towards
ne efforts of Sony and Sega. "Coming last in a launch, you know the successful Pokémon and gaps left at the younger end
the ducks you're Shooting at,” he said of the market by its competitors for its future hardware. —
Despite Nintendo's woeful reputation makes Dolphin a tempting platform to smaller developers are finding it hard to Saffire, Without development kits,
with thirdparty developers, the success work on. But with a global rollout of full- get started. Little-known developer Saffire developers must estimate the power of
of the №54'5 early supporters, such as Strength Dolphin development kits not Corporation has several Dolphin games In the target system — a notoriously
Acclaim and THQ - and the sheer mass expected lor at least another two months, production, ranging from a firstperson unreliable practice. These exclusive
of competition on 5ony's machine - and na word on the target system, shooter to a thirdperson action romp, screenshots (left) come from an early
prototype of Saffire. AI and inverse
kinetics are highlights of the technology
Not much can be learned from
what's really just one developer's early
stab at predicting the final performance
of the system. If Nintendo wants to
avoid the software drought that plagued
the Мёд from inception and now looks
likely to finish it off, thirdparty support
must become an immediate priority.
МЕМ/5
ATEI: SEQUELS AND INNOVATION POWER COIN-OP INDUSTRY
Fewer games shown than last year, but originality from the likes of Sega and Taito eases some concerns
Subtlety wasn't a strength
of Photo Punch 2000,
which took the theme
of Sonic Blast Man further
by printing out images of
your battered visage
10 EDGE
| ome outstanding new games shone through at the
recent Amusement Trades Exhibition International
(ATE! show in London. This year's trade-only event featured
less coin-ops than 1999. but still offered a concentration of
new machines from several companies, with Sega, Namco,
Konami, Gaelco, Taito, Midway and Atari all present
There was no shortage of arcade talent as punters
were offered a glimpse of the international coin-ops about
to be introduced into European arcades. A line of епі
Atari/Midway aural punisher Off Road Thunder cabinets
Konami's hardware (main) was swamped at ATEI,
while Sega introduced two coin-ops, Sega Marine
Fishing (top left) and Brave Fire Fighters (top right),
to the UK. The mediocre Rolling X-Treme (above)
Sega's Ferrari F355 Challenge Twin. in other areas, Матсо 5
World Kicks was eclipsed Dy the superior graphics апа
gameplay of Gaelco's Football Power, and a rash of
multiplayer firstperson shooters were kicked into touch
by the gruesome speed-fragging of Spawn.
Sega teased visitors with a badly lit screen showing a
videotape preview of the Star Wars: Episode | Racer. R&Ds5's
fourplayer creation looked stunning, but with a European
release pericilled in for March, a playable version was
expected. More exciting was a trio of Kits from Taito, its
Landing High Japan flight sim, an unnamed train driving game,
and Power Shovel Simulator impressing those who made the
СМЕ
Highlights at ATEI сате in the form of (by column, left to right) Konami's Fatal Judgement: Silent Scope 2, Sega's
Eighteen Wheeler, and Taito's Landing High Japan. It was no surprise to see dedicated-cabinet titles win out
Namco's World Kicks was beaten to the sports title crown
by th isingly fun Football Power from Gaelco (above UTET TUTTE
y the surprisingly fun Foo wer co (above) нш 7 i as
ки. IKI На! ТЕШ * * +
revelations, both Sega and Konami offered Web registration
for high scores, to determine world ranking
Virtual reality strikes back
Equally innovative was the $16,000 GVR VR Vortek
ја! reality kit. The company claimed the boom-mountec Eighteen Wheeler (above) and Landing High Japan
| | (top) were among the most demanding games
y, with a large hydraulic system Suspending the kit | ј
headmounted display units. Тһе unit, running РС title WIT such а large amount of interest, Paul Williams, Sega
| у Gea fered тепѕе expernerice, ле жа-секгее Arnusement 5 sales director, stressed that conversions of
novement creating a sense of immersion without nausea arcade titles are бете considered, but still not Buaranteed
Perhaps the arcade, with Its propen тог shorter games, 15 from boards omer than Naomi
the place for the problematic VR method of gamepiay "The Hikaru board may бе used because of the соп
More traditional offerings included Fatal Judgement system required, which of course would have to be
silent Scope 2 and Konami's small, cramped enclosure recontigureg before conversion for an y home system
полет ПЕ it was cammed ӘЛІП onlookers. Set in and he said. Dreamcast Owners may take that as а hint thal
ПО TOCE OT LOKI Tower Bridge, ti ague j De T Ц а5 маг Wa ED је | Racer, Еп ETRETIC)
e sharp-shooting, claustrophobic gameplay of the alil Arnbula and Br Fire Fighters may eventually
ы ЛО ПООЖ SET tO СОТО сува reng Пак 1 ардеагапс = L eu
| копати stand rng ro Ef шпа of сар ТЕ WE year's ATE] offered up few surprises
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bene рорр release-hungnry Dreamcast tans mobbed Ot IT gt егы Served ТО гетегате tar Creativity in tn
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the Sega stand for views of potential conversion material coin-op sector is, fortunately, far from being exhausted
і! ИЛ, |
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171 ІҢ
E
Midway followed up its popular Hydro Thunder with Off Road Thunder (left), a less-than-serious racer which, in
link-up mode, proved strangely compelling. Elsewhere, Sega gave its touch-screen virtual fish tank a UK airing
NEWS
Lara explores 12801
Following Eidos’ announcement
of Tomb Raider: The Last
Revelation tor Dreamcast
(above), Edge has played а
preview build and can confirm
а nearty identical port of the
PC version Improvemerits
are promised, with the
control systern proving а little
awkward at first for anyone
used to the PS joypad or PC
keyboard. The game is set for
an end-of-March release
Rare leaks Conker secret
After many months in secrecy,
Twelve Tales: Conker 64 Маз
finally re-emerged as Conker 5
Bad Fur Day. Swearing.
моепсе and gore now
permeate the cartoon-Iike
environment Conker plays an
innocent bystander in all of
the events, marking a major
shift іп Rare's tand Nintendo's)
development policy А ипие
gaming experience |5 promised
Perfect Dark's camera woes
Rare has issued a statement
regarding its much-anticipated
option of scanning in players
faces into Perfect Dark 5
muitipiayer game, stating 1л
order to avoid апу controversy
as of February 3 the fully
operational Game Воу Camera
feature has been removed
from the game.” A previous
statement trom NOA suggesting
"technical Issues" were behind
the decision contradicted the
feature being shown to Edge
in pertect working order during
a recent visit іп Rare 5 HC
Edge suspects that the сштеп!
US climate Surrounding
videogames (which has seen
Sega decide against releasing
its Dreamcast lightgun
peripheral) |5 responsible
for the outcome
EDGE 11
РКЕЗСКЕВЋ
EDGE PREMIERES INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT'S FRESHEST FACES
The name of the game
The art of selling out to sell big
onsider these garne titles for a moment:
| | Bear Bovver, Ah Diddums, Seaside Special,
Chubby Gristle, Mr Wong's Loopy Laundry. NOW
consider these: Doom, FIFA 2000, Rally
Championship, Quake, Formula One '99
Two sets of monikers from two different eras.
The former era represented the halcyon days от
computer gaming, when the unusual or distinctive
were allowed. Risks were encouraged rather than
flattened with a big corporate hammer. And, truth
be told, many software publishers were simply
flying by the seat of their pants. The latter era 15,
of course, where just about everything fits neatly
into handy little boxes, and attempts are made
to identify risks and eliminate them at source.
Moreover, crucially, the money men - especially
those with City investment concerns - can sleep
soundly in their beds at night.
Fact: there has never been a better time to be
into videogaming. But it can be difficult sometimes
to look back upon lts vast legacy and not feel the
odd pang or two of Sepia-tinged nostalgia when
considering how much innocence has been lost.
which is not to say that a little bit of
yesteryear 15 not evident today, even at the most
corporate levels of software publishing. Take
Edge's most wanted
Perfect Dark |
(N64) Rare
(DC) Treyarch
Finally, a machine capable
of displaying environments
that will do Tony Hawx's
game Justice, Sure, it's
merely а straightforward
part, Hut who Cares?
Even without its Game Boy |
Camera face-scanning
feature (see news), Rare's
firstperson shooter should
tum out as 2000's безі
Nintendo 64 title
Interplay's МОК, for instance. Here was а game
that featured on an obscene amount of videogame
Magazine covers across the globe. Within the
pages of these publications it garnered scores that
elevated it to classic status in journos’ eyes. Did
its sales reflect its critical reception? Absolutely
not. Sure, № was a success, but not a stratospheric
one — which is what developer Shiny must have
beer expecting after all that glowing press.
Could it have been that Joe Average, a casual
gamer not in the habit of reading magazines,
could not get his head around the game's unusual
hero, with his nondescript, all-black suit and oddly
phallic helmet? Did joe need a helping hand?
Perhaps he needed МОК spelling out to him:
Murder, Death, Kill. Yes, suddenly, in those brazen
terms, Joe = who, with his like-minded friends, turn
games into chart toppers or bargain bin fillers —
has something more tangible to convince him to
turn his £30 into hours' worth of gaming pleasure
(And what of the game Shiny chose to follow
МОК with — Wild 9? Even journos had difficulty
getting their heads around that title.)
The more marketers test this kind of stuff,
the more This /5 Footballs will be made. 50
goodbye, Mr Wong. It was nice knowing you.
A
|-___
What's іп а name? Well, ask yourself what the average man іп the street's interpretation of МОК
(left) and Wild 9 (centre) would be. Then consider the dumbed-downness of This 15 Football (right)
The latest games stoking Edge's fire
pider-Man
SNES fans will remember
the only hall-decent
Spider-Man game ever
created: Neversoft seems
ntent on making a wholly
convincing videogame
The first game to use 1075
Quake Ill engine code has
a Monumental task anead
of it - improving оп
Goldeneye. Edge suggests
that EA steals away.
PRESCREEN
Index
Prescreen Alphas
Power Stone 2
page 22
Racing Emotion Type-S
page 24
Perfect Dark
ne page 26
Ground Control
page 28
Carmageddon: TDR2000
page 29
Evergrace
page 30
Micro Maniacs
| раре 31
Thief 2
раре 32
Speedball 2100
паре 34
Shenmue
page 38
PRESCREEN
PRESCREEN ALPHAS
WITH THE JAPANESE RELEASE TANTALISINGLY CLOSE, PLAYSTATION2 DOMINATES THIS MONTH'S HOTTEST PICKS
THE WORL D | 5 - М ОТ Е М О () е Н FORMAT: РІ. АҮ5ТАТІОМ2/РС DEVELOPER: EA
ever Dies (a resounding Christmas number ane don't forget),
Electronic Arts is embarking on another Bond-based venture, seeking to create the ultimate
firstperson experience, for release in the autumn, Powered by the Quake IIl engine in its PC
guise, the emphasis is on providing players with an incredibly realistic and fully interactive
environment, It will encourage them to escape from tricky situations through Improvisation
and intelligent use of those detailed surroundings, retaining the spirit of lan Fleming's spy. Id's
Al and scripting routines have been scrapped in favour of a highly advanced proprietary system
PRESCREEN
GEKIKOKAN PRO BASEBALL FORMAT: PLAYSTATION2 DEVELOPER: SQUARE
ғ 4 - = pe sce 1 Isi i Р " Ed ^ 7 £m іг Ј c ere
run апа dive 3n astoundingly Шека manner {оше easie-ever] observers will still spot the occasional
glitch ретмевп sequences OF animations), All the teams (with гей! player names, КИ and sponsors) fram
the sport, whose expressions alter ti ugnout tne ПОЛЕ, expect ће animation to ae the most realistic vet
in this туре or game. With the amount of пас on offer, Sony's machine wall pe crunching tho:
PRESCREEN
A R M О К Е Г) СО R Е 2 FORMAT: PLAYSTATION2 DEVELOPER: FROM SOFTWARE
Edge suspects some of these shots are the resuit of a little touching up - but the demo currently doing
the rounds in Japan remains a technically impressive exercise, displaying the same nignt setting as the
PlayStation’ version albeit with far superior graphics and constant fluidity in the form of a 601$ update.
[пе PS2's power owed the developer to incorporate larger, more ambitious stages, while the рісі
15 ренемео To revolve around Earth ; Mars landscapes. Tuning your mech for battle is a good survival
tactic, and a new gameplay option allows you to store bonus elements gained after bouts for later use
two PS2 projects due for this autumn
(presumably coinciding with the
machine's US launch). Midnight Club:
Street Racing (main picture) centres
on the world of illegal road racing –
you drive around town in a high-
powered vehicie until another club
member challenges you to a race
through the busy streets. Exper
plenty of cars, extensive tuning
options and a highly detailed
gaming environment. Getaway
(below) offers an open world where,
as а smuggler sneaking contraband
rs, yOu must flee local
police and rival smugglers. CPU-
controlled comrades
=
to keen th
"Hn f: HE ЕТ? '
ПЫТЕН Hind p AE
Hy "ET CE
РВЕЗСНЕЕМ
WACKY RACES
FORMAT: DC/PC/PS DEVELOPER: INFOGRAMES UK
Scheduled for a June release on all major formats (DC version shown), Wacky Races features
all 11 characters from the legendary Hanna-Barbera cartoon, The game follows а rally-style
progressional structure, with players battling for supremacy through
cartoon series, cna enges Таке place as рпе-Сау events and ie terram varies enormously fram
series of races. As in the
ш
one meeting to the next. Setting up your racing machine correctly and packing the right gadgets
is essential if you plan to become ‘The World's Wackiest Racer. You may remember a dismal
300 Wacky Races title from a few years ago; rest assured this will be an altogether tidier title
FORMAT: PC DEVELOPER: GEOFF CRAMMOND
At long last, first shots of the 3D-accelerated version of what is likely to become the reference
point within the highly competitive circles of F1 simulation, finally allowing previous realism
champion GP2 to retire gracefully from what has been a tremendous racing stint, News that
the game will not make its planned March release (ta coincide with the start of this year's F1
season) will snack Only those not Tamiliar with Crammand s previous projects. Unlike other
digital FT crown contenders, GP3's 1998 stats are older than most – not that this will stop
Crammond's loyal followers trom choosing nis product over chronologically truer alternatives
PRESCREEN
H AW K' S S K AT E B OA R D | М С FORMAT; DREAMCAST DEVELOPER: TREYARCH
| 1 mem moe "гт
је getting a : ў ^ М | pum | a m =
Fi jee je | 4 "m
polygon counts
апа added cola
mast of the angular characteristics
of the PlayStation original, this 15
ane „апа Едре is ага 1 ПЕ
АТ SELECTED CINEMAS 25th FEBRUARY
4
D EA D О R A L | V E 2 FORMAT: DREAMCAST DEVELOPER: TECMO
Are all videogame fans maladjusted dweebs who spend their more private moments poring over anything
=
even vaguely feminine? It's clearly something Tecmo has considered, for rarely has a game worn cynically
engineered fantasy female forms so brazenly on its sleeve as Dead Or Alive 2. Fortunately, the game just
=.
happens to be a competent brawler in its own right. So lonely DC owners should be smirking either way.
— HELENA
FORMAT: COIN-OP DEVELOPER: KONAMI
TOTAL TIME 39'28"58 SCORE
| PLAYER
jan
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bL am
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ШИ LITT
This twoplayer linkable follaw-up to one of last year 5 most interesting coin-op concepts may technically
improve on its predecessor, but за thinks some of the elements have perhaps been taken a little too
far. it was shown in playable form at the recent ATE! show in London (see p10), and some of the realism
of the original has been replaced with over-the-top antics which rob the experience of that beneficia
raw edge. With action based on one of the major tourist attractions found in England's capital, you're
aimost guaranteed тле apportunity tà accidentally take out an innocent Dys ЗАГУСНЕ OF TWO
20 EDGE
STARLANCER . FORMAT: PC DEVELOPER: MICROSOFT
boisterous about now much Û
packed in this seemingly hnarmiess
package ens gued as to
what yeneath 1
ressive graphical surfaci Ele
Е е к оет E
3t erupts. Once то
'Poké-man?
ANACH RO NOX FORMAT: PC DEVELOPER: ION STORM
оқ кей 4 ا >. = 50, you got the console but what about the games?
did aunt elly forget that you prefer beating the living
*%@| out of a six foot geek with a blond flat-top to
running, jumping, standing still?
or are you just an ardent player
looking for quality?
каер an eye on тог the past year. As
with all good RPGs, the storyline (5 key
territory, But às wei as an already
smbitious, multipathed
папаг hac апе = шг
= ido УНОСИО d evel
eite
rios. Graphically gs have what ever you're looking for gamecast has И.
games, consoles, accessories. hassle-free service,
money back guarantee & overnight deliveries
available. everything you would expect from
an outstanding supplier and much more.
to order call; 0208 776 5031
or email: info@gamecastuk.com for a product list
the best things in life aren't always the most obvious.
Sr nriecasll
who do you want to be today?
PRESCREEN
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Capcom's arena-based beat 'em up is back, taking the innovative
original into even wilder new territory with devastating moves
Р | =
О ата
“2
РАТЕ EMIT iy
"E o nara
Capcom has opened out the arenas of the original, 1 less enclosed scenes such as this submarine-based
stage. Fighters can man the gun turrets and fire shell
pem пе argumentis Still raging over which 15
the better DC title. The traditional yet
beautiful Soul Calibur? Or Capcom's feisty,
frenzied and = for а beat ‘em up at least —
inventive Power Stone? No one knows what
Namco has up its sleeve at the moment, but it
will have a battle of biblical proportions on its
hands to top the promising Power Stone 2.
The game Structure remains intact –
Power Stone 2 is still ап arena-based fighter.
Combatants have full 3D manoeuvrability and
can pick ир various objects to throw at enemies.
The core play system has also been retained: you
must collect coloured gems to power-up your
fighter allowing him/her to unleash more
Format: Dreamcast
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: in-house
Release: Spring
Origin: Japan
22 €DGE
5 at their opponents іп a refreshing new interactive element
А
LUAM
т ШЧ ;
devastating moves. From here on, however,
everything nas been expanded. Most ODVIOUSIy,
four rather than two players can now take part
in eyery-man-for-himset beat ‘em up riots in
beautifully realised, multi-level environments.
These areas are much more complex than
those of the first title, taking in Egyptian burial
chambers, weird sci-fi industrial complexes and
even surfaced submarines. They all sport things
such as ramps, holes, Conveyor Belts, chasms
and platforms, to give the fighting a fully three-
dimensional feel and taking the airborne antics
ot Psychic Force to their logical Conclusions.
Ihe arenas also evolve during а bout. In the
Blue Sky stage, for example, the battle begins on
PRESCREEN
Some levels are occupied by massive creatures, resembling end-of-level
baddies. Rendered with Capcom's usual flair, they add an intriguing twist
a flying fortress which explodes, sending the
fighters plummeting towards Earth — still fighting
The skirmish reaches its climax on a hidden
military базе, Tis is insmred level design
M ры = = = = pn ға сна ы ғылымы оға =, = | =н
And it doesn t end there. These arenas als
e n
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contain ni eractive acts SUCN as gU
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creatures which add another element to combat
- Edge found a huge arachnid monster which in
any other game мошо appear as tne ultimate
Each of the stages | rinan tho мога ибни ата слеп Өкен
contains many levels Bi es
to fight on, bringing | іш ар аш ШИГЕ TL ои UE УЛИК
more depth to the | nterestingly, the game is being developed
combat. Background
detail is impressively
diverse, too
түтігі йыт و
к! | Е H]
E j карта аһ, Ру - — ай
simultaneous VIDI UTS ast diti Psi агы
EXT
VM compatibility is added — players will бе аше
to download data from the coin-op version to
го
У
У?
Тһе Blue Sky stage (left) has players falling from an airship. But that doesn't =r
them fighting. The Egyptian-styled stage (right) is more traditional Power Stone fare
The camera is pulled further back than in the first Power Stone, to
allow for the extra two characters. It adds a distinct element of cute
pen new features in the console eg
и, ріліп else, seems like à great way
со Вет; ars DacK IT ІЛЕ агсасе
Four new, manga-style characters — A
шна, Pete and Gourmand – һауе been added,
perhaps in an effort to court a younger audience
comparisons have already been made to
Four players can now take part in beat 'em up riots in beautifully
realised, multi-level environments. This is inspired level design
+. ‘arate ізігігі $ -- Cre П j
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vou d nna Mano or і ше endorsing, үүт its
tull-ón destructive роз5 ние alone,
t should appeal to gamers of any age.
PRESCRI
With G72000 having taken a predictable detour, SquareSoft is left with
an open road towards domination of the PS2's driving simulation scene
Only two views are
currently offered, but
using the Driver's Eye
option you can see the
dash instrumentation
alter according to
what the car is doing
on the track (right)
| Square's seven announced PlayStation? into the mix - the latter being an unusual
Projects, It may surprise many to learn Inclusion consider ing at least one (ле!
that this will бе tne first to make it on to the software company |5 known to have a large-
shelves, And yet it is a logical move – 672000 scale involvement with the licence
has been delayed until the autumn, and with 50 far, as well as the main oneplayer
- ү
nb = rip лл езг ПЖ SARATE na фр ^ rtr miae fice Tha! al ^!
e arcade-styled Ridge Racer V to appease game, three other modes exist. The revelatio
"ume Fame је а тағат nma for ті ғаға "V HH- HRA rs - = - У
Fair агы. (Е 5 а DETECT time тог а Оеџе ре Lhe гате noi [ ) өн |
А s 4 mAn СИТИ Нин haca Ariege lr ән PAR = =
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ж 14 ІШ E LU EL FIEL % Co 31. E = А к |
= arid-hesating franchics rae Аё ua maci РР mamat невина
ү - У дјеце = > iE ДЕ JU. JaN ЫТТЫ. Pl ТЕЛ TELS ! I ІС TEL Е,
Т ғ = rir ғыт Emni Tian ъф è в қ mi T *
Uy L ci = Ју - 1 i E
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= СЯ #1 ee | КЕ = ШЙ = т الاك ~ ша
| - = fect ле ла или ır inte САС m = The На e кіз
и 3 әм CI CO YUG ы ыыы ' | | v4 =
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| ally count), Edge would ђе pleasa
FT ric + а а= а "у
€ £i noun c£ $ 5
SUTE d үре-з eaves Its garage at a
Format PlayStation2 title, no prizes fo guossn ng that bee 5 from
Honda, Mazda, Nissan, M tsubishi, Toyota and
Publisher: Square = =
Subaru form a substantial part of the automotive
T: Ру || рез ь =
Developer: In-house broth being prepared by Square's coding chefs.
Release: Spring According to reports from Tokyo, foreign
—€—Á Ar eee ingredients such as Alfa Romeo, BMW, TVR,
Porsche and Ferrari are expected to be thrown
As in Sega's F355, the
racing school displays
braking areas as zig-
Origin: Japan
zagging lines (left)
noo
Fe
РАЕЗСКЕЕМ
Type-S throws plenty of PS2's visual trickery
into the mix, with effectively realistic results
j | n this format Square
a анды. E Eschewing the game's apparent quest for overall authenticity, races
^ 1 е occur at various times of the day. Night challenges will prove testing
getting their hands covered in polygonal oil will а session at the recent Square Millennium
find пер to guide (леп event, it became clear that the developer
There is no word on how many circuits has gone for authenticity and 15 attempting
Will feature in the finished game, Dut you to simulate realistic car handling ма a joypad.
c, ЈЕ а
s n a „әң = ~ — BÉ oum аа la гъа Га == zm. pm em ж] m, 2 қ i
can expect a healthy number As with the but as Polyphony found out when developing
machinery, Japanese tracks are expected Gran Turismo (and anyone who has tried
‚ make a strong appearance, while original playing GTA with a control tyre-equipped са!
| m .
Пі в = а European nca) there's a delicate ance Det
Car selection naturally | е 1 i - 2 ха
жешп чан. Square wants authenticity апа is attempting to simulate realistic саг
anese presence : - у А - à
(top). The twoplayer handling via a joypad. It's a delicate balance between realism and control
mode, meanwhile,
promises to hold the
screen update at 60fps presence 15 added to the proceedings. As in realism and control. At the show, the Dua
GT2, rallying 15 ап option open to ail Type-S Shock 2 pad failéd to be a fine enough too!
entrants, though how significant an alternative with which to Control Square s toucny
It proves to De remains uncertain polygonised vehicles
Although many aspects of the game It's hoped that this element will req
appear to be in order, Edge can't help but be simple tweaking. if Square fails in t
| one aspect of Type-S: during regard, then so might the entire game
As expected, the cars are gorgeous representations of their real-life equivalents, with highly detailed bodywork and impressive sets of textures. As in СТ,
just six of these vehicles take to the track simultaneously, but good Al should ensure close racing. Like many early PS2 titles, Type-S will appear on CD-ROM
EDGE 2:
PRESCREEN
Fear not, N64 devotees, for Perfect Dark looks set to deliver everything
it has promised for the last 30 months. And a lot more besides
An enemy displays his Predator-like cloaking device to no avail (main), while the Eyespy camera gathers vital info
on the road ahead (top left), and night vision goggles prove necessary for part of a dataDyne-based level (top)
he М64 may be on its last legs and steadily (mainly pistols and machine guns) joins
limping towards inevitable extinction, but selection of grenade (of the wall ПиввІПЕ and
I'd be | back on nore tra al Variety) and rocket lau
= emains canabli E st crossh
3 = a market too j med, and rem
Dark emerge as the year's бесі мед Tie, it should ne UU ап N-DOITID Which assauts
A training level with | ман мења COM Е ы ара ی н
En) ~ b | = == [У = ZG ЈА ВЕ. © = Кы zur rad! = 5 ы ااا TES У dd E
its own series of
nto the future and it’s your role, as Joanna vour average bad guy into а raving madman wh
challenges allows examples of the firstperson shooter genre them so that they can no longer hold theit
you to get to grips The action in the game occurs 23 years weapons, a psychosis weapon which transforms |
with the arsenal that | | " Я
you'll need later
Dark (codenamed Pertect Dark), to uncover Is more than happy to spray a room with Bullets
Not only should Perfect Dark emerge as the year’s best N64 title, it
should go on to be regarded as one of the finest firstperson shooters
1 panning 17 | 7 furthe еопе stays toO Уб ,
Publisher: Nintendo йы - » ык -
— ОП | 3 Trier take | | H1 | ІП == ПТОЕТЕ and
Developer: Rare At
жете? to Surp ri | | er difficult in muitiplaye
elease Your range of arsenal 15 prolific anc Non-aggressive supplies include thermal and
elease pr 5 BE
= | formidable: а collection of futuristic апа night vision goggles, data-inieving devices, and
Origin: UK 4
ڪڪ contemporary semi-automatic Weaponry the Eyespy – a flying fisheye lens camera used to
Weapons can be shot out of
an enemy's hands which can
encourage them to surrender.
The Dolby Surround score is
wonderfully atmospheric
Head shots remain the
most effective way of
dealing with most
opponents. This time,
things are a little
bloodier than in Rare's
last firstperson title
PRESCREEN
Ши
No, it's not Turok 3. Weapon selection is more immediate than GoldenEye's.
The Expansion Pak is recommended (not all options are available otherwise)
Bes гән тай ој ae
= = па =” n
= کے لے ы Гн p 1 c ‘om =
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& а combat simulator mode with а one to Tour
multiplayer option. It has 30 challenges, based
r s | i " і ma
=" nonea j ina sere | = Гите
| Spe Jy created arenas апп Various
When Edge played them, the multiplayer games (top) were suffering -
from framerate problems, which should be sorted before release options of play - CPU opponents/allies, team
ys team. capture the flag etc. Co-operative | Though Rare had it
me ape la oM тилен | working glitch-free
inina | during а recent Edge ر
СС г hig d ; here's counter visit, the company has 35 |
dangerous areas. Every weapon has a primary co-operative, as Dark takes оп a group of now scrapped PD s
LI
t
*
face-mapping facility
and Secondary runchion пе latter can ба dataD me agents. One of these IS aways | 4
апа secondary function. The latter сап о па РУПЕ ар 1 WIESE I5 anNdys due to technical issues
anything from turning a machine gun into à controlled by another human player |
proximity mine (useful in multiplayer), enjoying And it doesn't end there. In fact, Rare is
te а С пі у іч. ч ret fira Pur CiO rani uma Г Паф Car trat ЕТ:
ШЕ bet IETS DOT d pEe-Durs me ЛЕ ЦЕ БЕН ЖИТЕ Е СГА | ]
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render individuals UNCONSCIOUS, rather than
exterminating them. You'll notice that if you gel
" too close for armed combat, CPU enemies аге
The trusty GoldenEye и AS e" c
sniper rifle makes a KiCKing and punching SKINS on your frame,
return (with requisite resulting in a momentary blurring of the scree!
PARI Cu; лала || а р А А om Ф ISI
now more than паром to practise their new
futuristic design) and кейігі vou eet hit OF course: vou = Ye
is just one af the | |
: ел mvj Ir ire АРЕН Soria im "nd tre А A tn
numerous weapons avour, CS могіл Dearing ini mind nat а оюм
available on missions the back of the head is more effective than one
directed at a less vital area
AIS С ] n C MAJ 13 Ht ТЕ шау SOE H I5 | |5 РС
"Hg Яң т | = = "2 rli а р | صر РЕ"
throughout (GoldenEye simply displayed text
4 i
PE ни ғаға ағ Fe meu пали Рој
ILE SA TOS | МІ ГЕН nies || = hive CASS IL c ig
dran oo oaran та — ncm
LITER LI ЕЕЕ ||| и пара |
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New ова ;Pauernces reatu E, ds UU SU CII
animations for wounded opponents (such as
Running on а 70-per-cent-reworked GoldenEye engine, PD also offers
all of the control options found in Rare's astounding Bond title
heavy limping following a leg shot). Expect
PRESCREEN
GROUND CONTRO
Now among the most saturated of PC gaming genres, the RTS is
Tiberian Sun lacked
ambition. Will Ground
Control give Westwood
a wake-up call?
Format: PC
Publisher: Sierra
Developer Massive
Release: Summer
Origin: Sweden
P
DO
about to be enlivened with a raft of tweaks as developer Massive thinks big
Explosions are of course central to any hi-tech battle, and the pyrotechnnics
on display during Ground Control's intense skirmishes should not disappoint
realtime strategy war
: two design necessities compete
The public demands ever greater visual realism
But the nature of gameplay brings out cries for
clarity and easy control. The greatest RTS games
have always favoured clear lines of sight over
and above graphical sheen, opting for an
almost board game-like presentation
Games such as Age of Empires |! have
polished the pieces as never before, but still
the genre cannot claim to be more than an
abstract take on real life. Ground Control,
however, aims to take the player far closer
to the battle and yet Still retains the ability
to coordinate the action as a whole
Based in the far future, two armies fight
оп a devastated eartn, vying with one another
to reverse alien technology and escape to a
more позризые planet
In a nod towards Command & Conquer,
gamers will be play alternate sides in the
conflict, allowing a plot то develop and affect
tactics and allegiances. But unlike Command
& Conguer the game engine will be able to
carry the player in among the ground troops,
displaying detail rignt down to the smoke
from individual infantrymen's guns
Another vital deviation from the template set
out by the RTS greats 15 that Ground Contro! wil
feature almost no in-play asset management
useful the player fin
Instead of the frantic early game dash to
build as many powerful units as possible,
players are set more scripted missions with
an arsenal chosen before the mission starts.
Playing the game consists purely of continuous
пае management which takes place Tom
ET O TO SCaie
пошта Contro! s grapnics engine nas
Deen ІП development Dy Massive TOT two year
гл
and nas peen designed specifically to cope
with the game's demanding 3D requirement
Containing almost no hard coding, every
graphic feature is scripted individually, allowing
nteraction to be based on real physics rather
risa |ті ram um, жаға 2x lod m М E ғала тоза
BDispiayea а commendabie lack от ргосеѕѕог
greed will be in need of an urgent upgrade when
the game ships іп the summer. Hopefully, —
they'll see it as money well invested
The game will allow pu to zoom down to a soldier's viewpoint. How
5 this in practical terms remains to be seen, though
If controversial content was the element by which all titles were measured, SCi's
driving games would be in a league of their own. But there’s more to its latest than that
CUR)
Vehicles are significantly more complex than those of the previous Carma
games, with damage affecting a range of individually modelled car parts
Physics has always
been an important
element of the series,
and TDR2000 takes
such considerations to
new levels, Even when
sharks enter the mix
Format: PC
Publisher. 50!
Devolopur: Torus
Release: ТВА
Origin: Australla
aving generated over £10m in revenue for
ӨСІ, the Carmageddon series 15 nothing
short of a gaming phenomenon. On the face of it,
cynics would deem it the Mortal Kombat of
Irving expenences, зешпе on controversia
4... к
content rather than integral gameplay values. В
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that would be to miss the point. Carmageddon
was, after all, the title that predated Driver and
Midtown Madness in offering players a drive-
anywhere, anything-goes gaming environment
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thing people try to do in а driving game 15 run
someone over," says Carmageddon TDR2000's
producer Darren Barnett
"It's one of these fantasies that lets you do
what you want," continues SCi's р
director, David Ratcliffe, “not what everyone
else tells you to do."
Following the departure of original Carma
developer Stainless, 5СІ drafted in Oz codeshop
Torus to take the series to its next level. The
n
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sorawiing environments populated with the kinc
of detail rarely seen in driving titles.
"in the finished game there'll be over 36
challenges over nine huge environments,
says Barnett. "But we'll also have multiplayer
gdeatnmatcn-style arenas meiu ng a Jii -S TOP y
ension bridge”
These latter elements are de
the passions of Netheads who've followed the
Carpark апа an enormous Susp
destined to ignite
PRESCREEN
SCi cites John Carpenter's movies and 'the more gothic takes on
series like dogs with a bone since its inception
e games' open file structure has see
па J art roc T пр EN E Sars and
pedestrians, and, more impressively, building
Own fram the ground up
"The Net fans have been absolutely crucial in
coming up with the design for TDR2000, reveals
Вафа
"We invited wish lists from players and
rm neccacehrieiris t CP uwuliat Denn t
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c n wt НАЛ GLEA E Еш 2.
áÀ
hat's real player power
With much more user-tweakability planned
in from the outset, an even larger, more
rapid fanbase 15 assured for this
sequel
Batman and 2000AD' as significant influences for TDR2000's levels
The game's excellent
dynamics stand out on
the stunt level (above)
РВЕЗСНЕЕМ
From Software jumps оп ће PlayStation2 bandwagon early, with a
traditionally themed RPG, bolstered by lush visuals and quirky innovation
The environment is truly organic (top). Realtime shadows exactly mimic
the object that casts them and grow longer as the sun sets at day's end
Format: PlayStation2
Publisher: From Software
Developer; In-house
Release: Spring (Japan)
Origin: Japan
t was several agonising months before
the PlayStation received its first decent
roleplaying game – а mistake, witn hindsight,
that Sony is clearly keen to atone for with the
machine's successor, as this most obsessively
followed genre is well represented in PS2's ear
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From Software's realtime 3D RPG won't win
awards tor originality
The player selects from two characters,
а boy named Yuterald, or a girl named
Sharuami; throughout the game it's possible
to Swap between the two, while pursuing the
rcm РА кіші ін hi Tas Tu = а алые miam
same story. Naturally, both have their ow
а са E RE ene tarala Hae
gins and weaknesses = Yuterald nas
greater physical strength, and can also
carry heavier weapons and armour, while
Sharuami can use light weapons and possesses
other distinctive abilities. It's a standard RPG
Sharuami (left) can use light weapons such as spears and a bow, and also
boasts greater magical abilities than her stronger male ally, Yuterald (above)
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be dropped or reshuffied at save points. And
there are some truly unusual Items to pick up =
Including a frying pan. In keeping with firmly
established RPG heritage, most of these are
essential in solving the game's puzzles.
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each weapon dire orrelates to the healt
of the character - an interesting new feature
Being à PS2 title, the most immediately
striking aspect of the game i5 how it looks
Perhaps influenced by Shenmue, the game
boasts a highly realistic environmental system
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And it would seem that the developer's
tweaking process is far from over – there аге
plans to make the title intricately analogue
compatible, so the stronger the weapon button
Is pressed, the stronger the attack will be
From Software's intention appears to be
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other early developments for the platform prove
equally as innovative, PS2 critics таубе r=
forced to eat their words | У
From Software is
considering changing
the camera view to a
more dynamic system -
ust one of many ways
it will exploit the
reserves of PS2
PRESCREEN
Miniature GM freaks stalk Codemasters’ reinvented Micro Machines,
with the franchise retaining the series firmly established pulling power
POS
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As with Micro Machines, Micro Maniacs takes place in familiar domestic settings.
The Pot Noodle above is one of the most recognisable hazards in the game
|
ithougn Rare tends to gets the
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Us UEVETOUE emasters паз aes | giving players a tracking shot of each course before you begin the race
spent its existence concentrating not on g 5 | ==
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is a ferocious killing МО year» = GHU титу МО мә Б орг anu ^ мапе IOOKS SET
machine when you're an exciting DrODOSItIO! provide the frantic, challenging gameplay that
ted Taking the basic racing gameplay from is the series’ hallmark. You still have to dodge
say, most accidents 22253 олова ios = 29% xi $ |
һарреп іп ће һоте һе decade i : - as р қ Mio à
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је Б ardening implements and the like, ап The tiny characters
around every corner vehicles of old with a selection of twisted the level design 15 still hendisniy tight. Everything handle pretty much
haracters. Manga meets ‘Mars Attacks’ puts you же sharper and the tracks are more mult like cars, powersliding
around corners and
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у Е, LÀ ZI i | 4 |
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Publisher: Codemasters ај ae 2 > - TEE
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EET ———— ей геи made out of familiar household and tweaking, this offbeat racer ought to be =
Origin: UK ا 7
= garden scenes а ін Micro Machine: the perfect solution ні а |
PRESCREEN
Sharper Al, more convincing environments and a fusion of steampunk
and Tolkien enliven this sequel to the stealth-based medieval romp
ж all
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| Character modelling is much more advanced іп the sequel - and so is
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separated itself from its noisy cohorts and something most players could easily avoid
provided some intriguing hit-and-run missions n the first title with deft fighting
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Looking Glass has |
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using the latest PC employing steampunk-style robots to dispense conversations. tall otner characters, stake out > -
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This makes the environmental realism even would certainly De a waste if they cannot
Origin: US
2 EDGE
Photography: Martin Thompson
PRESCREEM FOCUS
Format: PlayStation
Publisher: Empire
Developer. Bitmap Brothers
Release: May
Origin: UK
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The number of old titles gamers call to be exhumed is
vast, but there’s one title that sits atop the list whenever
hardened veterans chew over the topic. Now, finally, the
only future sport that ever really worked is being rebuilt,
rewired and refined for the PlayStation generation...
А fter waiting a decade and then
almost as long again ой the train
ће a жағ саға چ FFL ki” | Hm uu meat
Fom London to Harrowgate, Edge finally sit
town to PlayStation Speedball 2100. And
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bright 3D graphics
applauded. The game is underway. ||
doesn't play like the old Speedball. “Whe
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ball that way, it's not as quick as it
used to be," groans your correspondent
False alarm
owner, the PR peaple and even Edge's
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п Mike Movitgoniery i brings assisting with
everyone to their senses: "I really want to
make this point clear. You are the first person
ға 44 ы ULEM xem ГЕ "T E КЕ ады а ЩИ Е
in te work tice of this office to pia, here before. We D
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БЕРПРОН d Аг IDOSN ® enn e ЕЗ 5 а есі Dnes a
we've ever really had it running, Yesterday
it wasn't playable. We've changed the ball Montgomery is right,
сосе six ог seven times over the last 23 dball 2100 again
hours already. We're not happy about it that's without any sou
ether. But it's one of those things that TOKENS, по proper рагпери
от ^ "|. = m > н тұ m
need tweaking,” he continues. "A lot af nor the nostalg
ағала, A CC Ly proc SAP T ple = еге “нш pls пати
mines do, Even yesterday he play erg $. mmen disc
running at half speed. We were going ‘It's and Speedball 2100 is
not naht and СІ ғ. White tha rogrammer ompetent Ра Stal ^
= н Ыар Маран г ге T, И РИ =} Г зд
was going, ‘Well, the code's night we making such a fuss
tired and while
м that
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he's as
open to emotional аррейіз
Wa ге already playing
voluble as ever,
and again
ki T en —
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now head of The Bitmap Brotners
he's a little emotional. But Edge has b
And yet
у tine-tuning
g ott
an old
B the Brotherhood (rom tool
Mike Montgomery ''Г
Chris White procrarune
Dean А їп ares
Byron Nilssen programme
Pete Tattersall (tude manager
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| А Speedball team numbers 12 players - including three subs who аге
| vital. Smashed-up players are airlifted from the pitch by robot doctors
36 EDGE
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Brothers and publisher Empire Interactive
isking them to release a PC version, to keep
steady Of, simply not to mess it up. And
these pleas aren't from punters in the street.
The pre-launch hype has yet to begin. These
passionate missives often come from jaded
and ruthlessly objective 20-something game
ournos. Speedball stands for everything that
was best about their 16bit childhood. It was
у game that could silence the endless
- - ы
Arniga-versus-ST debate with a reminder
Т AT | И + ЕП ЗІ - | тег
| " ' "mma ы
H „пне, gameplay Was а
2100 is more customisable than
its 16bit predecessors: team name,
player names, colour schemes
and 3D logos can all be changed
Dou
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Bitmap Brother. Ғапу UK coder strikes а
moody black-and-white pose in Edge, he i5
srobably inspired by the Bitmaps of old. All
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European gamers of a certain generation are
ы |
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curious. Everyone knows the rewards со На
Мо own goals
If studio manager Pete Tattersall is feeling
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Homage to the past might seem a
negative way to start = but Speedbals
elusive gameplay is something that simpl
cant be nsked. Indeed, the team is kept
on track by the old Arniga versions which
are constantly running in the office. For the
Е i i Р
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T үа те а „тії > ee ==
ы илы, М. BETAN 15.8 ПИЈЕ Ра! [| лч
31 two halves. Or, as Montgomery puts it:
"It is about going down to the pub, having a
few beers and playing 90 seconds of pure
hell against a mate” Despite all the chrome
metal, the aim 15 straigntiorward. Two teams
(boasting enigmatic monikers such as
Brutal Deluxe) try то score more points
than the other, by getting the ball in the
opponents goal ог by racking up points
with a score multipher, even if that means
е "nili t праной
L Е ODDCOSIRIC
=
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ВЕ Seer SPEEL. | em
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а д the rebound. Then there's
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ection of the set stars hanging on the
le r сасу сщ aba 4 x
1 Jh, and just to make it even more
is used to buy new players or upgrade
existing ones after the match. The power-ups
are more immediately handy. Effects include
turning the opponents into geriatrics, the
ball into hot molten metal, or the other
PRESCREEN FOCUS
Each pae has statistics for attacking ability, defensive ability,
speed, throwing, stamina, intelligence, power and aggression.
Between matches, cash can be used to bolster the attributes
player's controls upside down. Everything,
eS ‘We want to attract people who don't want to play FIFA.
E x They don't need to know anything about football. AII the
included in the new version
—
If Speedball sounds more like a shoot em
up than the 54th version of a football game
your uncle bought you tor Christmas, it
should. Like all Bitmap Brothers games,
Speedball is about the thrill of the arcade,
nat a delightfully lofted free kick. Still, how
will Generation PlayStation, hooked up to
a constant dripfeed of ever more realistic
sports games take to this brawling, hyper
realistic notch ‘em up?
“Ме don't necessarily want to attract
the people who want to play FIFA,” says
Montgomery bluntly. "We want to attract the
people who don't want to play FIFA. To play
our game, they don't need to know anything
about football,” Tattersall points out "They
don't even need to know anything about
Speedball! They can just pick it up and have
a go. All the control, tackling, passing and
shooting is on one button. Its what most
futunstic sports games have been based on
They weren't based on futunstic sports
games, they were based an Speedball"
Graphically, the shift to 50 is a surprising
success, considering the iconoclastic style of
the onginal, The camera works fine. The
players look suitably big and burly and react
quickly = without any ludicrous, arduous
motion capture to slow them down. Mice
touches include reflections in the metal floor
and the sparing use of prerendered vertex
lighting. The solid look of Speedball 2100 is
maintained throughout the menus, which
are all big, chunky and 3D. This isn't just for
effect. The aim is to communicate the tough
nature of the sport. "It's a hard man's game,"
says Tattersall. "The balls are metal, the walls
are metal and the floor is metal. somebody
smacks you іп the gob they re probably
going to break your jaw. That's the type of
game it is and that's the kind of effect we're
trying to achieve!
He admits: The mast important issue in
shifting to 3D is gameplay. Going from 2D to
3D, the dynamics change. What we have to
do is keep the 2D dynamics but within a 3D
scenario. But because there's no real depth
in 2D, we can't emulate everything that
happens. Issues are emerging now the
game is up and running. One that came to
light recently concemed the multiplier stars.
In the original, it didn't matter if you hit them
near the floor, in the middle or with the
highest throw you could, the stars still lit
up and it looked okay. In 3D, the ball can
actually hit above the star. If we light up
the star now, it just looks silly”
The first game was inconsistent — to
continue this example, the notion af ball
height did exist Іп places, and you could miss
a score if you hit above the goal. And while
the basic Al has been lifted from the Amiga
CD32 version, lots of code has been
rewritten for a 3D environment. Sorting out
the code bodges from the brilliant balancing
will take time. Hence Montgomery's caution
that the game still requires much work.
Speedball 2700 might look an easy project —
a makeover of a proven best-seller — but the
twin pressures of appeasing unforgiving fans
and the vagaries of the saturated and
aimless PlayStation market mean that the
Bitmaps have a job on their hands. And as
the update of Sentinel a couple of years
ago proved, being almost there is not
good enough to justify а return to the past.
Nintenda-style, the Bitmap Brothers
must now get their latest tteration just
(amazingly) night
A couple af days before Edge goes to
press, а call comes from Montgomery's PR:
"Mike rang me on Saturday morning when |
was shopping at the supermarket," she says
“Не was manic. He said ‘it's urgent, you've
got to tell that guy that we've sorted out the
probtem with the angles: Does that make
any sense to you?" she asks. Yes, it makes
а lot af sense. And до you know what? |
They might just pull it off.
Ir m yi Ts ТЕГ
+
ssing апа shooting is on one button’
Knockouts, two-division leagues and three cup finals are included.
One and twoplayer management and sixplayer leagues are options
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[|
Having finally completed the Japanese version of the
most significant Dreamcast game to date, Edge sets out
to identify what makes Yu Suzuki's latest such a landmark
FI Hmm АН"
PRESCREEN FOCUS
Е || пи НІН ү
тай 3 Те... E
s a player, you have entered many types of game worlds. Until now, combat, but you have never been there, You haven't lived there. In Shenmue,
however, they have only managed convincing representations of the people, places and events that shape a person's life become the game.
architecture that exist in reality. You may have raced streets in high- Shenmue is a meticulously chpreographed illusion. And it is a kind which
performance cars and taken the lives of enemies while protecting your. own in has never been seen before. Even more remarkably, it succeeds...
TE ET Ане oona
it would be по exaggeration to call place where items can be collected, and nodels (each with vocal dialogue), ánd
shenmue a new type of videogame the waterfall lets.you connect to the omplemented by 150 musical sequences,
Perhaps that explains why its producer, Yu Internet' (Shenmue's 5 Passport disc). The and you begin to understand Suzuki-san's
i Suzuki, has difficulty.describing nis project narrative 15 there to make sure you claims that, in volume at least, the content
and ends up using a metapnor 85 а means explore te island as directiy andas , y Over 100 umes that of a two-hour movie,
ot communicating his concept. Imagine | effectively as possible - but remarkably, Moreover, the game features an
Shenrnue's world as an island. On this vou'reallowed to do whatever you wart nemet aspect allowing up to ойе million
island, places such as an inviting beach, You can, ifyou wish, spend a significant Japanese Dreamcast owners to access the
fall await you amount of time at the beach, for instance network simultaneously to check out men
[па реас! үп arcade, the valley а Originally planned as a three-chapter мпете they stand on the national ranking
А — adventure Shenmue evolved into а 16 for злептше 5 mini-games. In addition,
ор to one million је Dreamcast chapter өріс which was to be divided into ` they may wish to trade items at an online i
. ‚ owners сап access the ти network three parts (incorporated into Shenmue 1, ћеа market while getting handy hints and
_ Zand 3j. At one stage, Shenmue 1 was set tips from fellow Shenmue players.
simultaneously ta.check out where they ~ ro pave 16 chapters. but the game that а aire с E
Stand on the national ае none recently shipped in Japan features. but follow-up remains undivulged. But he is
ana While the story ma,
downsized, however, |
lume have both incre
а valley and a wate
лаг F ға мања. mn m a дева а H
dve peer ЈЕ ir | зеге i u
nsity and, software libraries allowing fo |
: games - 56 mucn 50, in таст, that пе
sk Suzuki-sal W is most proud claims that Shenmue 2 should outperform
of in this three-and-a-half-year enterprise the first game by 200 per cent
and he immediately talks about originality But thé next instalment is some way А
Format: Dreamcast and the many new technologies used off (there is no firm date -іг5 afother
№ througnout ‘cre 5 | ning Teafy when ваду f nd jt рате) – it's
Publisher: Sega еды сама creative proces Fashioning | у when i s f ӨТІ | р
———————— -- " , боде that allows players the freedom to . the premiere Shenmue char at Edge
DE ODE: | In-house (AM2) wander aimlessly within а sprawling world . has been poring over for tne last two
Release: Out now (Japan) | “. [eu tack bay " те! many developers months, and {© finally | іп д position Ta
A vial € ———ÓMM— imaginings - add a realtime weather comment upon authoritatively Enjoy ten
system, 350 highly detalléd character of Shehmue's dazzling achievements
Origin: Japan
%
at
4 10 EDGE
РВЕЗСКЕЕМ FOCUS
Quick Time Events
-< Quick Time Events in Shenmue keep...
"they may be. This system has attracted ·
played Shenmue; but it works perfectly.
Whenever it is necessary to react.
` ` Suddenly, icons representing а diréction
arrow or аснатбиноп flash briefly оп
screen. А harmless example would be
to catch an object before it 165 just
tap A’ tograb iti- „аа yo
QTEs become more complicated ав
the game progresses. During stand- -offs
witn«Mafioso types, the situation
becomes tense You don't know who 15
going to make the Ага томе, or what
you should do wiien.it comes. Апу
number of icons will flash on-screen
during the next crucial minute. React
quickly and you humiliate the group
QTEs pull уой то the scene. In reality,
the effect is as similar to Dragon's Lair
as Рас-Мап is to Unreal Tournament.
a
' Quick Time Events are pid) to
all EN of incidents. And it's not
during high-action sequences
igh that they жы effective
Virtua Fighter maniacs will appreciate
free battles in Shenmue. Ryo 15 similar
to Suzu IKi-5 ап“ 5 other famous Character,
Virtua Fighter s Adae. his fighting
techniques use a Command system
adapted from Virtua Figl тег -insome ,
| ways it's тоге complex ' А
аты атша) ——— Б имез are executed by combinations
| МУ М | of one punch button and one kick button
used with D-pad commands. It's not
exactly like VF, though – pressing up or
down causes Ryo to sidestep instead of-
crouching and jumping; a separate“
button is used to duck attacks.
tackle more than one adversary, and it's
important to have throw techniques
ready, to buy time, and commands that
allow Ryo to strike out behind. There are
also counter attacks that only work И the
opponent moves first – your reflexes
need to be extra sharp. E
- Free battle Бары isn't реди, complex, but it works
гај beautifully. The accessibility of this combat mode means
that taking out multiple foes becomes viable (right)
~
К, you; alert 10 dangers, however sight E.
Criticism from those who haven't even oe
There are moments where Ryo must _
~
=
EDGE 11 >
PRESCREEN-FOCUS
It would be an oversight, of course, to
assume every player is а пашга! at ОТЕ5
and free battles, and its opportunity for
practice is one of Shenmue's lese:
publicised charms. The QTE training is š
perhaps quite obvious, but попе е
claverly integrated. You find ОТЕ =
machines іп the-Game семе - one |
ва videogame; йаіег is more of a.
physical challerie. дз Ыс half-hour
session on these machines should
serve to sharpen your reflexes.
: What's especially impressive is Ryo's
search for sparring grounds to brush
up on free battle techniques. The most
obvious place is the Dojo back home,
where Ryo goes up against one of his
father's students. Other locations useful
for this type of practice come in the form
of car parks and empty warehouses,
Ryo's entire rebertoire is written on
a scroll with commands listed alongside
New- techniques can be obtained in
writing, bought from a specialist shop
and presented іп curiously decorative |
envelopes. Friends who wish to help Ryo
with his quest also step in on-accasion
to teach Ryo something flashy, Until Ryo.
соріёѕ his friend's.routine ПЕ is not
allowed to leave — which may prove
frustrating for those short on гдехі erity.
Two classic Sega coin-ops are available
to play in Shenmue — exact replicas of Yu |
"Suzuki's Hang On-and Space Harrier ^— .
They're Y100 per go – and since RYO Îs:
rarely struggling for Change, it’s
tempting to indulge entire days.
Both games can be controlled иле”
the DC's analogue Stick, which will is à -
| dream come true for Mega Drive Hang
f- .On Worshippers - now you can lean into
Шеті those: cornefs just as you always wanted
' to. Space Harrier, meanwhile, features -
more enemies than the Mega Drives - rs |
5 pseudo-sequet. With somebody standing
` behind уой to yank your chair around —
while you're hurtling full throttle and.
blasting away, you might just forget
Ryo's sensitive mission altogether.
“Ryo gets to practice fighting in all
manner of environments. А scroll .
maps out his repertoire (top right)
ii ~ mms
When Ryo lands ; himself a job at the
docks, he is told fo arrive an hour ea
to compete in the morning's fona
truck race Ryo" 5 buddy,
starter's orders every moming at
for five forklifts. . =
Not only is racing а blast, but it also
helps Ryo become an expert forklift
you to get a job? Ryo's stint driver which enables him to get the job
working at the docks is one done more ье The тог аге .
> = most extreme exemples » impressive in the ir. own right, featuring
enmue $ eagerness to noel
simulaté real-life situations no mane
Ryo spends six тыр working a5 а
forklift driver, carefully Stacking crates.
By the time the contract is up, you
i or actually start to dévelop а real pride for
ТӘ • your work. It's true. Only in Shenmue,
- ж 27 =ч 4
How many other games ask
excellent cont
H
ТІЛІН
» Nt | |
Attention to detail is you've never seen before: Ryo enters the Game Center and is faced with a number of
entertainment options, а darts. But who could resist spot-on versions of inei Harrier and png On?
тле emotion engine
Shenmue has entered new. depth in the
art of storytelling — which takes its time
to hit home, The game is far more
expansive than the greatest of RPGS,
with the apparent potential to be more c
harder-hitting than epic movies, and ;
4 occasionally more thought-provoking " Je
than а respectable paperback thriller, =."
There's something unique abouts > te ier
= drama i іп such avivid GG “= ~
2 world. You spend hours-and days with Ls
characters. You can get 50 close thatyou = — жеді
even remember their. eyes. These people î ; dr
gain importance оп an entirely different. HP
level to that encountered in any other -
entertainment medium, атана ern ЕСІ
| Consequently, you find yourself - :
The quality of character portrayal
means that you build a type of bond
with NPCs that has rarely been seen
VD Ue _ experiencing emotions that were =p i
теры EL г le-withi
Taking it all in previously impossible within а
vide&game. You developasenseof —
Dutside the action scenes, Ryo functions - gentle. affection forthe kid who.cares — ^
as the player's eyes and ears. You сап “so. dearly for her.stray kitten. There's: -=
wander about in any direction you 50 => E cold terror. е а growing гар for =e
z= choose, which is useful in finding a : Am arae А
Dd .- . location, or.when tracking down а friends. alóne make you feel ыз s ў
1: ` - Specific person. It also gives you the uncomfertabie. When it comes to a= а. 1
opportunity to stand still and admire fight, you: almost revel in it. mr
the magnificent detail.in the game. | fe
Shenmue comes to life thanks oe
i. There's even time to stop and pet a. |
> cat or read the label оп a carton of
^. -milk before purchasing it.
Suzuki-san's team паз applied 50
to its astonishinglocales.A |
‘real’ game clock sees darkness
descend (above right), and |
‘real’ меа ё t a par too
Ш
соғ reality ae startling: Somehow, |
Ue те the game would î not b HM те
complete without it... 5, өс” >
-ң a ai >
Л
Tu
E '
a
—
ШЕ: ues emt г
ioa A = hA |
ONDE : леан the world of Shenmue = +.
Doras When elements of fantasy and | l
= commonly · spent patrolling the streets,
ts" OF working the dócks. Conversations
apad to.more conversations. You get :
` involved with а: number of chores and
fights. You Catch tHe bus. You feed the
cat. You pick up your daily allowance.
from the shelf on the way-out to get "SI
some more batteries. If this were a
movie you might say it's kind of slow to
"begin with, followed by sudden drama.
Hu chief among the unexpected is а
_ *« character called Chai, а little bald-
— peaded skinny guy who works forthe
Triads. After a few days asking questions
and generally looking for clues, to |
| suddenly have him spring on to the
Scene comes as à real jolt.
In its bid to offer a super-realistic бурепарсе г ийе сап | prove a Знам. хрегіе (
(роуа left) hardly raises. the рида Виї this serves simply to ина the Hee E |
a
ғ" ғ - * в = тыз == = ' - m n
PRESCREEN FOCUS | шерте
. Ё =
| = М — i
" ү, |! "My Hl
| и | шш ТІ?
ШЕ | n "ҮП
5 Е ait à “Though you can't interact with |
= - "everything in Shenmue, there are still ^ >»
` а surprising number of gadgets to hand
. Some аге essential; many are purely for
- amusement. it's imperative, for example,
to make the occasional phone сай Ryo
keeps а list of numbers in his memo рад
- you can contact friendsifür hints or to
make important appointments.
Likewise, it 15 necessary to visit
the Tomato Marto to pick up certain
essentials that will come Ит useful
later. Other items are avallable at the
store — зис as music cassettes ог ·
questionable quality — but-these join
^ along list of spuridus junk. Güzzling
hot Georgia coffee or adding to yoür .
collection of Sega-themed miniatures -
Isn't going to | т ove Куо'5 сћапсез. |
Edge admits to spen
long pumping one vending machine -
for a small NIGHTS figurine (though
It was snagged eventually)
Le
The Saturn (above) is easy to find,
which is more than can be said for
its software. Phone use is essential
(left); spending time collecting Ж,
Virtua Fighter figurines less less so (to 4 | kx.
Hiding the evidence
The easiest comparison to be drawn _
with Shenmue is with roleplaying
games. No obvious goal is offered to
begin with, other thàn to avenge the
death of Ryo's father. Clues to the
ultimate mystery are unravelled one
Љу one, from information offered іп
piecemeal form by friends and family. | |
Some characters just happen to be | E | i. + T
incidental - such as the town drunk
. who just wants to: - alone. Until
you speak to p opi и don't know
what they're hiding, or even whom.
arhough sometimes you encounter
the same conversation many times Эё
over, it's equally true4hat Some events
occur-quite naturally. Ryo тау just
happen to arrive back home and receive
a phone call from Hanazaki-san, his
apparent love interest. Another time
Ryo might get involved in looking for
lost cat = because there doesn't appear
ко be much else left to do in town that
afternoon as netheads | back home |
It's hard-to зау how CR! could have i
improved on this illusion of combining
circumstance with the obvious.
Disguising clues among the routine ic
alladdstotheexperience. _ | =>
Characters Come in many shapes |
and forms (350 in total), and :
range from the harmless (left)
to the mysterious (above) to the | TN.
downright unexpected. (main) |
^
4 ii EDGE
^ ind A
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т
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LE
25:26
ті раны:
Зов а нш 44!
Ht мит ПИЛЕ ЖЕЕ
matters |
Games are getting larger and larger,
but who is actually bothering to play
them? Edge investigates whether or
not the ‘size isn't important, it's what
you do with it' argument holds true
hy do games, from RPGs to firstperson shoot "еті ups,
Ww 50 frequently expect their audience to dedicate in excess
of 15 hours just to view the closing credits? How many people
actually spend the nme to read every last trial utterance or
explore that final dungeon? And why do codeshops have such
an unshakeable desire to produce bloated, 50-hour epics when
a condensed, action-packed 15-hour equivalent could be a
refreshing and refined alternative?
Are developers being hoodwanked by the hardcore?
Are codeshops preaching merely іп the converted alone by
producing epic adventures that demand over 30 hours of play to
complete? Looking at mainstream videogame magazines Of
Internet chat forums, it's obvious that the most stndent opinions
are often those of devotees. Metal Gear Solid, it т< said, is too
short. Final Fantasy VIII, by contrast, is rarely стісѕес for its
heavyweight 100 hours-plus of play time. Even Zelda: Ocarina
of Time, a title that demands about 30 hours to complete ма
the most linear route from start to finish, has been described as
inadequate in length.
Do game makers know their audience? Consider the most
fated consumer demographic of recent years: the casual gamer.
By definibon — as vague it may be — these are individuals for
whom gaming is only an occasionally welcome diversion.
Publishers are aware that while those who buy software on a
regular basis pay the rent, it is the interest of the mainstream
gamer that must be stimulated to maximise revenues. No true
АЧ title can live up to its billing unless it captures the
imaginabon of the casual cross-secbon — as anyone working
in the PlayStabon market will confirm.
Videogames have much to leam from anema (and, winin
{ле next decade, the reverse may also become true). But at
the moment certain types of entertainment software doggedly,
and almost naively, attempt to offer expenences modelled on
their celluloid cousins. A hardcore gamer accustomed to filling
gaps in the game with his or her imagination — or the patience ol
the dedicated practioner — is more likely to forge raw scnpts or
seemingly endless wandering. The casual garner, lacking that
experience ог perseverence, 5 unlikely to be as generous. Can
the art of telling involved stones via the medium of console or
home PC ever hope to compete with the Tekkens and Gran
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MGS uses tightly
focused gameplay
elements in order
to maintain pace
throughout the
game. Around just
about every corner
lies something that
will stir interest
Turismos of the videogames industry? In Japan, of course, they already do. But in the
west, that is very far from being the case
Looking at the likes of Nintendo, LucasArts and SquareSoft, it can be argued
that the standard of videogame adventures has never been higher. Even westem
developers have grasped = finally = the importance oi measured сї er progression,
among other, equally desirable, design attributes. But on the subject of size, perhaps
game programmers have some rethinking to do
Lacking the conformity of expenence of a movie or a book, videogame adventures
can be an often solitary pursuit, where isolated events are scattered in among
environment-based tasks. Whether action-based occurrences or story updates, these
events are often the hook that maintains or increases player interest Could |
argued, though, that cutting out a proportion of non-essential Dusywork — like running
from one end of the map to the other, or attempting to use a mystenous, newly
acquired object in а vanety of contexts m order to progress — would make games more
enjoyable. more accessiDk ша it be that the omais НМУ genre 5 not the creative
cancer that many perceive it to be, bul a tentative first step towards а design bnet that
might be of greater interest to casual players than the likes of Айшаға or Shadowrnar ?
Is big better?
With i zet that few codeshops could ever aspire to, Digital Anvil's Freesancer 5 a
ee желет : ғ i ES = > Lh ілі n | ڪڪ аі -
behemoth іп every sense of the word. And yet, as а PC title, its developer can make а
lew basic assumptions that its console-coding equivalents cannot Adam Medhurst,
art director at Digital Anvil, knows that PC gamers are traditionally well disposed
towards large, complex titles. But does he fear that Freelancer is almost too big? Will
many gamers, ather than the seriously hardcore, get to see every bit of it?
“We have to look at the context when using the word Тар, КОДА Medhurst
“The physical environment is indeed big... an epic universe, which 15 ed by this
section of the market If the game, or at least the linear part, takes over 40 hours to
expenence, is that big? It really boils down to the playing style preferred by the
individual. In Freelancer, the gamer builds up their status in the universe in а vanety
gi Ways, tom quests to та ling over many gaming sessions Ail ріауе зг МА ill h аме ће
chance to see the majority of the world at some point. | am not sure if it really
matters that not every single inch of the game is seen
Tu T а (фе
| believe that interactive entertainment should not be disposable. Therefore one
А = T B co Ба ый: ы Бө ч
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{ marty kinds. To allow the scale of the game needs to be репегси is. A [агре
ee Eha је у 4 i mut елите ГГ wee put or nera, The
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imrmeree enmynmnmrmernt nne mat not onm nes 2 TUe љетње Oi Spa e, DUL ШЫ.
j i i В А да = г тіктігі ov = я и cn Ярыш
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provides а mgn јеме! ТИРТАӘСТОГ and сеп. A game or iris genre SMOLU ТЕС
While the likes of Conflict: Freespace and НИюг offer bite-sized set pieces
Ereelancer ambitiously opts for an open universe, û la Elite. But the days when simple
vector graphics were sustenance enough for hungry imaginations are long gone
Players now expect sul h games to boast visuals approaching those of СО sequences
from similarhy themed sci-fi mones or Гу shoves. | tering E larg BE оса ale, vaned visual
content 15 ап expensive Dusiness — as Freelancer 5 current cost, at over $20m, attests
- MX
SIZE MATTERS
‘perience of a movie or
a book, videogame adventures
can be an often solitary pursuit,
= а га ығ E a HE чи ғ ШП > жш ” ғ. F | Шы чыш
жэ жыл um = = ==
are scattered іп атоп
environment-based tasks
Such resources are beyond the wildest
aspirations of most codeshops, but
Medhurst firmly believes there аге other
ways to achieve this goal without
employing an inordinately large in-house
art staff. The solution, he proposes, is to
employ extemal talent. Until recent years
this was practically a taboo within
development — expensive and impractical.
"ме used over 50 artists out of house,
from over several art houses all over the
world,” reveals Medhurst. “From conceptual
illustrators in Hollywood to 3D art houses
as far as Russia and Vietnam. It allows me
to build several parts of the game at the
same time — and tt also enables me to
move faster and achieve continuity across
the board trom an aesthetc perspective.
Companies can take economic risks Бу
constructing huge in-house art teams.
"Obviously this methodology takes a
great deal of organisation, planning and
communicabon for it to be successful. But I
can honestly say that not only has it really
worked out well, it has been tremendous
fun. The model lends itself well to the
production of large projects like Freelancer.
| see no reason why it shouldn't be as
useful for any size af game”
Do developers physically, or financially,
have the ability to undertake such massive
projects? "It seems as though the constant
decreasing cost of backing storage and
RAM has resulted in more physical
content,” offers Medhurst. "With tumbling
hardware costs we should also consider
the increases in processor speeds in line
with and above Moore's Law. Faster
processors and cards have been tumed
over to handling the Al and rendering
components in the game's loop. Why not
use these added cycles to auto-generate
content? Algorithms for auto-generative
landscapes, interactions, textures, audio
and characters — and so forth — all exist,
yet developers still spend a large amount
of time physically designing and prescribing
these things to the gamer. Although there's
a case for consistency, there's also a case
for uniqueness and the unknown?
EDGE 49 №
SIZE MATTERS
2:24
98-48
Sonic Adventure (above) and
Soul Reaver (right) are - in many
respects - flip sides of the same
coin. Whereas Sega's title is
broken into bite-sized chunks,
with plot as the glue that binds
them, Soul Reaver is а large,
continuous epic. Sonic is a game
you dip into; Soul Reaver almost
demands extended play sessions.
Why must episodic design be
restricted to certain game styles?
Growth industry 4
Acclaim's Guy Millar worked as crea
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Does he feel that advances in technok gy аге forcing ог at least compelling level pers
т
to create increasingly larger games?
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than forces us to do certain things.
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videogame marketplace? How, in short, ca
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night (and probably been the worse for wear the following morning). But people wil
do that, Once you find a game thats addictive, that youre
until the dawn is breaking"
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to the wider reaches of the
snare a casual player for a
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|
really into, then you'll play it
Spoken like a true hardcore garner So what did Millar make of Edge's line in its
Shadowrnan review, where it was suggested that many gamers with the requisite free
d from doing so, due to its adult content rating?
с
ime to complete it were kids prevente
"| think as far as Shadowrnan was concemed with journalists... well, it takes at least
two to three hours to get into it. That posed certain problems with the reviews...”
Steady оп. Edge's man clocked around 35 hours with Shagowman.
"Those first few hours were, with hindsight, a bit dry" Millar continues. "We've
changed that with Shadowman 2, as | don't believe initially there was enough of a
‘shook’ to involve the player That was a problem with a few reviews’
So what about the accusations that Shadawrnan is too sprawling in places and,
worse, positively unhelpful where directional pointers are concerned? "There's
somating in that,” admits Millar а major prabiern in Shadowmean that you can
get lost and not know where to go next. As far as the design is concemed, if you keep
searching you will find a way — some find that very satstying. And there are always
strategy guides ог the Internet to help you:
So why does it not have a hint system, such as Ocarina of Time? "| think it can be
SIZE MATTERS
How long - 50 hours, 15 hours, 15 minutes? With Shadowman,
' Silent Hill and AVP, the time required to reach an end or
satisfactory conclusion differs wildly. Which game gets it right?
compact levels in a way that not even Hal-Life can rival. Does Rebellion MD
Jason Kingsley favour the episodic approach?
"It depends оп the type of game you are trying to до, he claims. "If youre trying
to do a fully immersive roleplaying game, you manifest your episodic inclinations in
115510115 and things like that. But with AVP, it's so difficult, so frantic, we wanted to give
players staging posts — a feeling of achievement. It was deliberately designed like that
to give people a sense of progression throughout the areas’
Does he believe that the mainstream gamer has the time, or, for that matter, the
inclination, to invest countless hours on an adventure? "| think your average gamer
does not. But the hardcore gamer will spend all their spare time doing just that We [at
Rebellion] like the idea of games that give people value for money. If you get three
solid weekends or 15 evenings of play - and I'm just plucking numbers out of the sky
here = as opposed to 50 evenings of play, youre still getting pretty good value Tor
money. More importantly, a more approachable size means that you're not wasting
your efforts in building a game that most of your consumers arent gomg to see
m
There's nothing more frustrating than building а game where half your players give
"There's nothing more frustrating than building a game where half
of your players give up a third of the way through. It's important that people
get a sense of achievement. And the learning curve needs to be right"
a problem as far as suspension of disbelief 15 concemed. The raison d'étre when
making a game like Shadowrnan is to make it completely immersive. If you get text
reminders popping up on screen, it might make you recognise that you're not actually
there. Nintendo is goad at this sort of thing in cartoon enviranments like those found
in Zelda and Mario games, but in a game like Shadowrmnan its difficult to do because,
undamentally, although it is in a fantasy land, it i& supposed to be realistic,
And that is а problem central to videogames. How do you maintain an
atmosphere and a consistency of expenence for penods of time that films, or even
works of literature, barely touch upon? Surely that it is something that will only become
clearer over time, as technology enables rather than restricts those commanding it
Looking for some action
Whereas many developers might have approached а project like Aliens Vs Predator
with their creative juices soured by cinematic aspirations, Rebellion’s interpretation ot
the brief is a videogame first and foremost. The distinction is succinct. Broken into
Гу d
bite-sized chunks of high speed action, Alien vs Predator is a critical, commercial and
cult success. Part of its appeal, Edge is often told, is that it maintains tension within its
up.a third of the way through. №5 important that people get а sense of achievement
And the learning curve needs to be nght. People do go too far іл building big games
But then, in many ways, | think same don't go far enough. They һауе the size, but
you're not actually doing am di There are some examples of games that I've tried
to play but got sick and tired with, ||| be playing them and know what I've got to do
but I've just gat to walk too far to-do it Or you get the other phenomenon — that you
can see that the testing is very thorough for the first third, less so for the next third
and the last part is kind of chucked together. Games should be tested and refined
thoroughly all the way through’
One problem that used to be rife in videogames, and which still rears its ugly head,
is where ill-considered graphical touches and gameplay devices callide, Every gamer
must have experienced this at some time or other, and the dissatstying search for a
solution it creates: the act of st тайпа against in-game fi furniture while tap xping an action
button, desperate for some kind of response. Спаја is familiar: with this flaw, “We
always stress with new artists that if something looks like a door, it has to be а doo
There's nothing more frustrating than showing somebody an entrance but isn't, unless
it says clearly: ‘I'm welded shut!’ | draw parallels between this and some of the very old
EDGE 51
|
ү Ш ili ШИП | T0] n ІІ!
ПО чі" iq m
— (5 Н as in Fa
x
corridor
adventure games. You knew what you were trying to do — you just had to find the nght
phrase so the parser could understand, 175 frustrating, because you've already solved
the puzzle, but you can't tell the computer you've done sa"
One criticism of larger games is that their designers often like to draw out а game
with mindless busywork. Naturally, not every moment сап be a scintillating set piece,
but endless trawls through non-interactive locales can be dangerously tedious. "That's
a dirty old trick, to multiply the size of a level or area,” observes Kingsley "It depends
how it 15 done, though. In Alen vs Predator, there are deliberately areas where nothing
happens, We use this to heighten the tension = it's а specific feature. Sometimes, you
need those pauses simply to relax before the next big dramatic scene. Differences in
pace are important in a game, but need to be there as a creative device IF they're
there for the wrong reason then lulls are bad, cheap and easy"
Should developers consider using mone extemal talent? Would writers with a keen
арргедаћоп of how to create а watertight film treatment be а boon in the process of
scripting both gameplay and narrative for а wdeogame? Kingsley beheves there 5 much
for industry practboners and their counterparts working in other mediums to leam
about differing techniques or practices — and, in some instances, undeam.
"| think there are overlaps, which are significant and wiil grow more so. But
woe betide anyone who thinks that if they're a film-maker they сап make a game, and
vice versa, without going back to the beginning and learning again. Пт sure there are
lots of scriptwriters who are talented and want to work on interactive scripts, which is
great. But they need to leam so many simple things. You can't have а decision tree
that splits into two and have 28 of them, because you'll have six million endings,
which isn't practical. The plot strands have got to spread and come back, so you
have nodule junctions in the story. You can't have it going off at random"
A question of time?
Metal Gear Solid is a classic videogame. As awkward and unrefined as its plot may
be (the translation from Japanese to English is rarely kind), its high-paced action is
condensed into a predominately gripping 10-to- 1 5-hour lifespan. Does that fact relate,
in any sense. to its commercial success? А connection surely eist. MGS's distant
relative, Final Fantasy Vill, could almost be described as more interactive storybook
than game: It 15 almost the opposite of Hideo Корта 5 masterpiece in this sense.
The former entertains and immerses the player with vanable play. The latter offers
hour upon hour of dialogue as an integral part of the gameplay
However, the two 3264 Final Fantasy games are almost an anomaly. With
production values that are the envy of the industry, Square сап call upon resources that
few developers can ever aspire to. To complete Final Fantusy ИИ, and doing so in a
manner that takes in its side quests and secrets, requires 40 days at three hours per
night, or 60 with two. That Square maintains such a high level of entertainment
throughout is testament to its financial clout, and the legions of creative staff that this
allows. When other codeshops attempt to work to a Final Fantasy-style bref they
invariably fail, Their games are too big, too sparse, They are almost desolate Бу
comparison, with infrequent hook events punctuating hours of low-budget exploration.
There is also the fact that some western developers fail to grasp the degree to
which the industry is driven by Japan, There, with а far greater proportion af what ме
would describe as hardcore gamers, the heavyweight RPG is a staple of many software
4 52 EDGE
|
diets. іп Europe and, to a lesser extent, Amenca, that's patentiy not the case - i's
unusual to see an adventure game top the retail charts.
Edge recalls an interesting topic of discussion after Final Fantasy Vil enjoyed its
bnef sojourn at the top of UK sales charts: many store owners were suprised not by
the tate by which units were leaving thew shop but the rate at which they were being
returned. Apparently many of these players simply couldn't relate to the sprawling plot,
or lacked the time and patience to make any progress.
In conclusion, it's hard not to lapse into sub-sociological musings. Statistics could
be cited to suggest that nowadays people have more demands upon their ime than
ever before: they simply lack the time to play games for three, even two hours a night.
How сап you reconcile completing Ocarina of Time, Silver or Shadowrnan with having
а job, a relationship, or even а few altemative hobbies? Does the much discussed
golden goose of gaming = the chic, PlayStation-owning dub-goer — рме a damn that
a specific piece of narrátive-driven bloatware was a labour of love for its designers,
and took almost three years to create?
There were anguished cries from certain quarters when Sega announced that
Shenmue would be broken into digestible episodes. Some might argue that this is
ап exploitative realisation of potential revenue, or a manifest demonstration of Yu
Suzuki's pertectionist nature and power within Sega. Or could it be one of the
most inspired deasions in recent gaming history, nevealing clanty of vision, an
understanding of a wider audience? After all, if a tree falls in a forest, and = —
no one is there to hear it, does it make а sound? as
Жошы
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Hideo Kojima was
the director of Metal
Gear Solid, a game
Edge believes strikes
a fine balance
between scale and
compulsion to play.
Who better, then, to
offer opinion on this
unusual issue?
Edge: Do you feel that games are in danger of becoming
too large, that adventure titles requiring more than 20
hours’ worth of play time are making unreasonable
demands on gamers’ time?
Hideo Kojima: For the typica! person with a jon the
play time of current games is definitely too long, There
аге games ош there that seem to make you waste your
precious time and don't serve as entertainment Some
RPGs have too many time-consuming enemy
encounters that have по meaning in the overall story
However, one mustn't forget that these battle scenes
can contribute to the unique fun of games. This
means that (Е this Interactive portion Is fun enough, t
will not be seen as a burden, It is not a matter of tne
overall play time. but a matter of whether or not
this moment is fun. This is like trying to classify
objectively whether the period you're going out
with someone was long or short. F you like that
person а lot, you want to be with them fora
long time Some couples only last for a few days,
some couples last for a lifetime For those who
can only compare game entertainment to tag-
hour film entertainment, the long play time
could be tougn to endure.
Edge: Some hardcore gamers criticise
Metal Gear Solid, believing it to be too
short. What would be your reply to that?
HK: Obviously tne play time for MGS is shorter
than that af RPGs with a lot of enemy
encounters | believe that the fun element and
the density of the contents in MGS is not Inferior
ta those games. There are a lot of games that
are made of similar numbers of events and
scenarios, Dut which force you to go through
similar stages over and over – then try to give
variation to the game by raising the difficulty
level within the game In MGS we tried to get
rid of such time wasting and aimed for pure
enjoyment of te contents at a pleasant tempo
Ido now regret that the temperature morphing
card key event in Metal Gear Sold wasa Dit
repetitive though.
Edge: Did you envisage MGS taking
between eight and 12 hours to complete?
HK: The overall play time was only determined
after we put together all the components of tne
game. What | think of first is how many events,
traps, enemies, bosses, cinematics, etc, would
satisfy the player | then lay them out ол a timeline.
Only after this stage can the play time be
determined. This intended playtime in the planning
stage has nothing to do with the actual playtime Of
the finisned game. For example, if the running speed
of Solid Snake was slowed down by 50 per cent,
the game would take twice as long. After we пад
combined a bunch of enjoyable components in the
game апо linked them, we ended up with between
aight and 12 hours of gameplay There's nothing to say
that a game has to be limited to two hours, like films.
Edge: Metal Gear Solid has extras that players
can only get to see by completing it. Do you think
that developers should concentrate on making
tighter, focused but shorter games and appease
hardcore gamers by adding special features that alter
SIZE MATTERS
the way the game plays for the second time?
The scenario in ап action game is 10 limit the freedom of the
player within the game Without this зсепапо, there is no sense of
aimmosphere and involvement, The mission "You are а spy, Avoid being
found and save the world’ is one that makes the player feel involved.
The scenario in MGS is merely a tool to make the player dive into that
world and enjoy a feeling of infiltration. In reality one would probably
like to play in a less limiting environment. That's why for those who
have finished the game, we Include a mode in which the player can
play more freely without being bound by the scenario. As you will
see in the Game Boy MGS (or as you can already experience in MGS
Special Missions), future games will probably feature a mode In
which the player can play Ene same stages or in the same map Dut
with a different mission objective, This may become the trend: the
player learns the game system and action components in the main
scenario made, and then use what they have learned in the
subseguent Missions and bonus stages.
Edge: Do you think it's easy to distinguish the difference in
value between something that is compact, yet packed with
individual events, or large, but rather repetitive?
HK: Something with high density is preferable, of course. Total play
time is not what's important. How many adventures and events and
Surprises а game continuously presents is key, Crossing a 1,000-metre
bridge with 100 identical battles is not fun. Crossing a ten-metre bridge
with ten different enemies 15 definitely more enjoyable. However, | da
not want to reject the igea of a 1,000-metre bridge as a tool as long as
it 6 well presented to the player.
Edge: Do you think it's possible to tell a story on a par with
films if it must be stretched to fill up to 30 hours of play time?
НК: As long as the ups and downs throughout the story and plot are
well designed, it is possible. All existing games are errand games –
gares where you must сату out actions to get a result. No story in
any existing game, including MGS, Б a real story in the true sense of
the word. The final objective in а game may be to kill the dragon and
іне entire scenario simply makes the player collect items and
information until they are able to do so. In adventure games, people
are forced to look for the key to unlock tne door. If the player has to
keep on doing this for 30 hours there is по scenario ог drama. IP
fact, there is а simple lack of drama. Even if the game is short and
composed of à series of item collecting (‘Get the orb to obtain the
sword te kill the-dragon...’), it is-still an errand game. And during
playable, interactive portions of the game, dramatic direction cannot
be applied. This is why it is important that non-interactive, one-way
demos must be shown to enhance the significance of a particular
line or scene in the game
Edge: Do you believe that games will become shorter as a
side-effect of increased development time?
HK: If the game project prioritises reality, that would be the case This
is a critical but paradoxical issue for scenario-based games with
the pursult of realism.
Edge: How do you think game-size issues will be affected
by the advent of new technologies?
HK: All of wnat уе been talking about nere is one of the first debates
to take place with the introduction of PlayStation? In order to create
realism-based games for Р52 with the same volume as similar
games for Current consoles, development time will mutioty integrally,
In 2D, creating a park involves simply drawing a picture and placing
sante characters. But in 3D, the entire park and background, along
with the characters, must be created in three dimensions. Now we
must deal with fountain water sand in the sandbox, time and weather.
Facial expressions must be enhanced, and there must be teri fingers
on the hands. Everything in the park must be tangible and, ideally.
interactive. This goes on forever So what becomes more ==
a ~ ЈЕ
/
Important than ever is what the designer sets as a top priority L=
EDGE 53
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Aas бата prepares to enter anew era, 1 Edge salutes the achiew 3
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ruth be боја, те last 112 months 273 7
iT not been kind to thelfype of liaeogamer |
who buys Edge every month. agp
Just as the tise in popifarity of velat
gaming gave lite to a crashing М: суп іші.
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The сий of virtual pets taken to its
extreme is the core of the Seaman
expenence ~ and it works. Hatch
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Graphical Achievement
The most immediately gratifying part of the mix, and one that patently separates the men from the boys
shenmue
Developer
Format
Publisher
Soul Calibur
Developer Namee
Format
Publisher
| Homeworld
ти n n e [- Ц D | Developer
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Technical Achievement
Perhaps the most difficult aspect of a videogame to mark out, but arguably the cleverest
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EDGE AWARDS 2000
Audio Achievement
The days of turning down the TV and slapping on а CD are long gone - now, soundtracks are to be celebrated
Medal of Honor
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triggered by increasing ргохитигу
Sauaresoft
Developer
Format Aay Staton PE
Publisher Sony/Eidos
Probably the most lavish sounding (and
jooking) RPG ever, Square's flagship
brand continues to delight gamers with
it& rix Of haunting Character themes
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winner
Dreamworks
Developer
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Publisher EA
меда! of Honor takes the interaction
between movies and gaming to a new
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signicantly Michael! Gicchino, who
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Everyone knew it was going to happen,
just not in 1999, Миса 5 GeForce 256 5
the first graphics chip to take transform
and lighting calculations from the CPU |
freeing it up for better Al, physics алі B
collision detection, Next year's games _ MI
should play smarter and look сезге И
thanks to the 23m transistors | ы “НПИ аи
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it doesn't have anything like the Game
Boy's software brary, but SNK's cute
handheld kicks Its competitor into
touch where grunt is concerned
Try NGPC Sonic for ample proof
it may not have been specifically
апей as a gaming product, out the
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TESTSCREEN
TESTSCREEN
The definitive monthly assessment of the world's latest videogames
Driving alternatives
OW refreshing (Т 15 IO отын ІЛГЕН Orvik
Ш games in the same monin that offer more
than merely the usual A-to-B formula
It's not that circuit-based racing has suddenly lost
its appeal = particularly when you're taking about
racers of GT quality = but the prospect of getting to
grips with yet another developer $ absurd and гееріе
(апо ever apsurdly їееое, on occasion) attempt at
bettering Gran Turismo can nave the nasty side-erTeci
Dt! sending neuronas into permanent standby Mode
Attempting to create something to stand proudly
alongside Polyphony's GT series 15 a futile exercise for
just about every codeshop. So It's with no small
amount of pleasure that Edge samples Beetle Crazy
Cup, Rollcage Stage и, and Crazy Taxi within column
inches of each other If nothing else, its proof that
there are Ceveropers out there prepared 10 venture
off-road with racing concepts. Granted, Crazy Taxi
has been around for 12 months in coin-op form, but
the opportunity to play it without the accompaniment
of a роскенш of pound coins has granc appeal
Of these three great titles, RallCage Stage ||
emerges as the one offering the mast complete
videogaming package while valldating developer
ATD's claims that its effort was always going to
бе more than a simple, exploitative rehash of
previous code
Sony recently sent out a message to each of Its
PlayStation and Playstation? licensed developers
warning of the dangers associated with Churning
out endiess unoriginal sequels and copycat concepts
The company urged them to come up with nove
ideas їо break put OF tnis destructive cycle апо Bring
the emphasis back on attracting gamers through
innovaton. And it's about time. For the rast three
years Edge nas deen asking SCE! executives what the
company was prepared to do about this predicament
In Some respects it’s surprising that Sony Маз
adopted such а proactive stance, After all, it's difficull
to imagine the suits in Sony's vast music division
sitting around a table bemoaning the lack of
imagination evident among gir and boy bands
Rather, their debates аге mare likely to concern
exactiy what тет company can do in order to
grab a larger slice of this most cynically conceived
sector of the popular music market
Does this mean that the videogame Industry
5 growing up more quickly than the music trade?
Not necessarily. But the Signs, driven by the
likes of SCEI, bode Surprisingly well
What do you mean, there's not sarily a finish line? Edge's racing skills get rattled by the
emerges af teres Stes етот => Е ы
oe ی
Every Issue, Edge evaluates the
best most interesting, hyped
innávatige ar promising gare
n а Rog OF Тет, where we
е А game recening à
B y competent Tie vem
bul АЛ icm
nanceable flaws
Gran Turismo 2
oints above average and (PS) SCEE
пате and balanced, Nr
avyerape пате Hesses An 10 ТИПІНЕ «cr Га ni TTA ne nad a8 eagwy ОТОНА ТЕО
average mark — гї, аз rrr back’ course must exist in the Japanese version
believe, seven out of ten
=
formulae, courtesy of SCEE, Infogrames and Sega
SFI W impact
(DC) Capcom
LA = АЕ 2
Colin McRae Rally 2.0
(PS) Codemasters
Edge tean
game even the art staff
butthisis one belief in the title's solic
равно у апо tectnical
сап get ine heads around mprovements over Смат
Index
The Sims
Crazy Taxi
Beetle Crazy Cup
Berserk
Mario Party 2
page ба
page 68
page 70
TESTSCREEN
| Afire gets out of hand and claims
should be – you don't develop
deep concern. (Above) Layout
| a life (right). It's not as sad as it
depends on the Sims living there
— —A— — — Жа ._
Certain possessions |
are obviously vital to
a Sim's life, so it makes
sense to buy them
before blowing the
family jewels on a
1000-54-Н living room
>
hes
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effectively,
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a prettier Sim City 2000
a y pu m. قو mom
Maxis Surely nasn't abandoned
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pette ster and more 3D Simi Ст
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citizans an
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15 DT | an
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uw Tar
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id television sets rather than the
outlandish beasts of Seaman,
rre "c ami Ta =| "i T
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artificial Ife game Is effortless
empatnetic.
ut there s 8150 a
But there s 8/50 a
potential snag. Just as Final Fantas
W's characters prov
realistic enough tc Justify abandoning
ed not quite
ЕЈ =
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© Sill НГ 5 р теспе
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ri mms Pug a i 4 mir РА Ру
Theme Park-style pictorial DUDDIeS.
Li жə аа Т ғаға dem - = Imr y co me
YOu don't see them at work, The game
ii праг! a =
JV Ж Du Pir П Б вы
ті ТЕ mpi ТЕ = H Bal. =
ме Bot 15 ап nfinitely
versatile house con
struction Kit which
кы кй # ғігалғазғғ AAiire nli
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тпптакгтітсінгін m e Hall - *
ILU ae И қ. | L елү ES |
whoever you put in there.
| You can order Sims about, but if you're not on their wavelength
they'll usually refuse. It's down to а Sim's personality. With
just a few statistics and a star sign, differentiation is achieved |
66 EDGE
building Sims houses а
things with thair wage
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‘hair عله وط ани د nium: ју" ^i А"
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Sim's personality. М ta few
Statistics and a Star sign, reasonable
differentiation between the citizens
ғ т" m m ~ re =="
2 d p. A A = ыз = алша г
atrantion So АП Гү ГИ remm Homan n
i F = РМ и] | -
'Rainman', they've got ле social
om Cruise. Watching their
encounters is highly enerossine
ےا дале м т а "imm 3
ы за tach r ЕА Р ab Se 6 =
aedi ТЕГИ Еу ЕКЕ а
possible. Торе
motivates The Sims. Brilliant
awer game А!
loose edges. Recall the s
sour units take in even the most
ІШІП ГС JL ites
РА АЕ RTG па a | а
СЕЛІ [ - E Ji ӘН ҰЮ | ||
P Les Р = h Ried os = =
СОНИ. MOAI си ШИТ РАР 150
E
huge achievement. Here's a game
wy ме i “əн № A a beum ғ
WEE үш бап GUNO а house ofa
Тһе Sims redefines the 'kitchen-sink drama’. The house сап be viewed іп
various levels of undress, and also rotated to allow the ideal action view
shape, fill it with bric-a-brac and then
- = halla геп time around їп nary
it di dg UAE эз alt п TO Darty
m pm, ғі | ~ m oe seh mia
ап ву can 5 PEDUSIe ва Dine
i got manr | m Tha Ата he آم یم
Б Li
stand-off in a kitchen doorway 15 the
exception, proving the rules work
Actual interaction between
Sims and their world is slightly less
accomplished, although still the best
yet. The Al's trick is to have nearby
objects (televisions, computers, beds,
etc) all bidding to attract a Sim's
attention, with Success argen
depending on their current mood. The
Cine мега arc Fiiuks lane ae
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anyone familiar with children or the
Teletubbies that they tend to do the
бата things again and again ~ ап
expensive bookshelf or piano will not
be seen as more appealing than the
TV without your intervention, Still,
compared to most A-life denizens,
rhe Sims has renaissance men
Theoretically - although it's not
xa [21213 9 ағы 3| I] T [f
It's difficult to keep a lone Sim alive. They are social beasts, and you'll
find that they tend to pine for company. Equally, they can end up broke
apparent for тапу hours – The Sims
is actually somewhat limited. Maxis
has played it too straight with the
body types and personalities, while
the toys run out sooner than you'd
expect. The Sims' Web site will help,
offering hundreds of downloadable
m
Dbjects and new Sims, plus the tools
to create them, though that's not
much comfort to PC users without
access to the Internet
But perhaps any gripes can be
put down to the old 'Oliver Twist'
syndrome – you can always ask for
more, All things considered, it's
better to see The Sims out a year
after its E3 debut. It is undoubtedly
one of the freshest experiences
available on any platform. it's fun
play and it's instructive
Other developers should get Out
their notepads, too, for Maxis паз
unearthed a nost of design gems in
this, its most essential release Го
since the original Sim City. LS
Edge rating:
Mai nni k^
Seven aui ar ten
TESTSCREEN
Format: РС
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer: Maxis
Price: £35
Release: Out now
Nw
| ЛОДИ
| ү! | |
Ghosts frequent one
of your initial homes
(above). Burglars
will pay a visit (top)
when the Sims are
out or asleep
REED
TESTSCR i
While the end-of-dungeon encounters are dramatic, true set pieces are
found somewhat lacking elsewhere іп Мох 5 convoluted ined
caverns
nese really are depressing
times for the PC. In the last
12 months, its most established and
respected developers have proved
themselves unable ta release
games that go beyond the lacklustre
and uninspired. The prime case in
point must be the father
strategy gaming — Westwood.
Was the critical success ye
sales of Blade Runner enough to make
it pick up its toys and turn towards the
of realtime
"et Hat
The charming of beasts is a primary skill of the conjurer. Si
key ability only allows you to dominate beasts whose scrol
safe profits of recycling
the past?
Fim tha marii Fare rmf M т
Even the many fans of its Command
а Ша Га! | imum qma - Tibe 3F С Irt
e L.LATLILIET ELLE HDI Ferr] aL
must have Deen disappointed Dy
It possesses the deep-shine polish
Pu armo hau ana
> eames have alwa
ys tended
to lack, a hunger for the future is
equally absent, leading it to being
an ultimately unsatisrying experience.
The closest comparison 15 Blizzard's
glorified Gauntlet-with-extra-
roleplaying-accesso
Although the game deliberately
away тот the random
of its inspiration, the
stripped-down intensity of approach
remains. Almost every element which
has personified western roleplaying
SAIR Tolkien
clone setting downwards. One of
the striking elements of Nox, in fact,
is Its almost culture purist attitude.
ries гетіх, Diablo
steps
dungeons
is included, from its
ificantly, though, this
5 have been located
Only the most peripheral
influences ‹ of piae RPGS appears:
villages totally popula 2. izens
who exist to say but a single
sentence. The mast prominent step
away гот the east is in the game's
plot being notable by its almost total
oretically you're
aman – sadly this is anc ve 7 of those
single-sex hero RPGS — brought to a
fantasy land by an evil necromancer,
your origins bear literally no
relevance to how the story unfolds.
The game seamlessly moves
from your arrival to choosing which
of the three character i
wish to play. (Edge wouldn't t take
being torn from its plain of existence
so happily.) But it's in these three
character classes where Nox most
mpresses; in play, they're wildly
different from each other. The
traditional warrior and wizard may
ре expected, but their implementation
shows a certain amount of flair – as
well as the standard array of
absence. While the
се m:
lasse YOL
The little story is told through cut scenes (top right). Often, archetypal good figures аге sla
ughtered at the hands of
the chief villain, while you remain unengaged because you have never encountered the deceased prior to that point
explosive magics, the wizard's more
than capable of placing combinations
warrior adds a surprising amount of
delicacy to gameplay: Dy positioning
the character correctly, incoming
projectiles will be blocked
Most praise must be heaped
in the third class, the сопјиге!
halfway house between the magical
and martial poles, ne quickly reveals
nis array of subtle nuances. The
most impressive of these is his
ability то possess - and, at higher
levels, summon — certain beasts
that you encounter, leading to
Г reasing V ma
The fire imps are typical of Nox's
foes, with effective powers and
exploitable weaknesses
the campaign starting in a different
corner of the world. Visiting the
areas of Nox in alternative order
upon replaying creates a degree of
emotional resonance, as you see
what would have occurred in a place
f you weren't there to defend it
Technically, Nax doesn't come
anywhere near the level required to
impress the next-generation-nungry
Dase Crowa. ІТ Seems to continue
as a means of side-stepping the
only mildly lauded, it's here that the
real fight will take place. By offering
cepted game modes, such as
capture the Пар. out of the box, and
witn tne three classes possessing
powers Such as trap laying, which are
only really useful in the multipiayer
game, it certainly has the potential for
nitiating controlled chaos reminiscent
of ancient pseudo-classic Spy Vs
Spy on a mass scale
Nox's refinement may satisfy
Famers who will happily pick it up
because of the developer's name
TESTSCREEN
Format: PC
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Developer. Westwood
Price: £35
Release: Out now
Мох в technique of
dynamically darkening
areas which remain
unseen to the roe
is a rarely used idea
which enhances the
game's atmosphere
| The conjurer quickly reveals his array of subtle nuances. The
most impressive of these is his ability to possess and at higher
levels summon beasts, leading to increasingly manipulative play
nfinitely spiralling PC upgrade
trap. The most notable effect is a
rarely used atmosphere enhancer,
which reveals only thase areas of
the map мсп are in direct line
of sight, while the rest is plunged
nto Ching darkness.
While the soio play contains
sufficient charm, the game's true
success will be decided Dy whether
the online community embraces
It. Like Diablo, whose solo game was
alone, Ultimately, though, it's a game
you'll play to completion but would
never find yourself eulogising tà
friends. Nox's approach may sell well
today, but with its rampant cultural
retroisms, Westwood may well find
that it has sacrificed its tomorrow.
The future of videogaming has
rarely seemed further away
| | I
Edga rating:
Six oul OF ten
= |
TESTSCREEN
UHALY TANI
Format. Dreamcast
Publisher Sega
Developer: In-house
Price: £40
Release. Out now
HII] т 1-4
ig ER = Se
TOTAL
ssively for a couple of
days when the preview code arrived
at Edge's office, weeks passed with
no one bothering to load up Sega's
cabbie simulator again
Now the review version has
arrived at Edge's HQ, once again
many hours have been spent
ferrying demanding customers
around masterfully rendered city
environments = the second,
Dreamcast-only level now running
as swiftly and smoothly as its
arcade-originating counterpart
Fail to deliver your customers to their destination within the strict time
limit and they won't wait for you to stop before abandoning ship (right)
70 EDGE
БАЊЕР
Це сата елт
Botn аге tremendous in scope
and offer an abundance of locale
variation, shortcuts, and secret
passageways as well as hordes of
potential customers lining their many
thoroughfares. These are colour
coded (green for longer journeys
through to red for shortest) allowing
you to inject a little strategy into
planning your journeys
Mastering power знате (Crazy
Drift) and turbo-boosting (Crazy Dash)
your way around town should ensure
that your customers will reach their
destinations in record time. This not
only ensures higher fares (the longer
you take, the less you earn) but more
seconds remain to pick up another
taxi-seeking pedestrian. As well as
playing along to arcade rules (rapi
passenger delivery boosts the time
limit and hence keeps you in play)
you have the option of selecting fixed
time modes (three, five or ten
4 ғ = | Pc, ај + Ур | а
minutes). I S5 ап easy Way 10 Dalance
game time if a group of you is playing.
There are no prizes for guessing
—— PEE — і
а Т.
ГАЕК
"s
Despite the two play areas' many
locations, and 16 mini-games
(above), the action in Crazy Taxi
rapidly becomes repetitive
that the finished game is a lot of fun.
After all, Crazy Taxi's premise makes
perfect videogame fodder
Despite the game's initial impact,
however, it's not quite the triumph
some have already termed it. At
times, for example, gameplay can
spill over into the reaims of the
preposterously frantic, robbing you
of solid play. A more serious issue is
the reality that, even with the extra
city and 16 mini-games throw in,
the game is incapable of delivering
depth on a significant scale. It is,
therefore, a title suited to casual
play rather than concerted, weeks-
on-end entertainment.
There's absolutely no doubting
Crazy Taxi's stellar quality as a coin-op
conversion. Like The House of the
Dead 2 and Zombie Revenge before it,
though, it suffers longevity shortfalls.
Restrict play time to bursts апа | =
you'll get along fine |
Edge rating:
Seven out af ten
ОШ САВЕ STAGE ||
TESTSCREEN
prt
Еш T T
ad ATD been happy to knock up
a marginally improved sequel to
its likeable 1999 futuristic racer, it's
unlikely you'd read about it here.
aut Rollcage Stage Il is a
wonderfully complete experience,
offering substantially more than its
predecessor. Tne adrenaline-friendly
concept of the original remains, while
the play mechanics have been refined
to significantly reduce potentially
frustrating situations. Disorientation
can still occur, though not as often,
and one button press gets you facing
the right way should you require it.
New features are myriad, and five
leagues await you, offering two play
modes: the pure racing nature found
in the original Rollcage, and Total
racing, which introduces the concept
of battling your opponents for points.
Your combat skills and finish position
Technically, this is as adept as its
PlayStation-pushing predecessor
Stage II has 20 new tracks, with obligatory alternate routes, for you to try out
the most imaginative and impressive ways of defying Newton's principles
then determine your final standings.
Both modes follow a three-race
structure with entry to a knockout
round granted if you're leading the
points table by the end of the third
race. Winning this fourth race allows
progression on to the next league Dut
tor that to happen you must survive
tour laps without being eliminated
from the race; whoever is bringing up
the rear every time the line is crossed
is thrown out. You'll know when
you're neaded for retirement-ville
because your OSD helpfully turns red
and you then either scramble to
overtake the guy in front or gracefully
accept defeat. The moments of
intense desperation that follow the
sudden realisation that you're in last
place offer genuine thrills.
The usual arcade and time attack
deals are also on offer. This time,
though, you'll notice a training mode
offering a series of tests а la GT to
help you get used to the gravity-
defying world of Rollcage racing. And
adding more meat оп the game's
already fleshy construction Is the
Scramble option, presenting 25 Sky-
set, treacherous assault courses in
which you must get from A to B within
the time allowed without venturing off
the edge. It's gratifying stuff.
Stage Il wouldn't be the success it
is without its splendidly rewarding
structure — пеапу every triumphant
achievement brings about new
goodies. Finish first in races and you
get access to a new vehicle (the
better the car, the more weapons it
has), or earn a retry voucher for the
knockout run (handy in the higher
leagues). Conquering the game's
many modes also opens further play
options (Survivor and Demolition, tor
nstance), so incentive is ensured
Throw in а selection-of hugely
entertaining twoplayer options and
other bonus modes and longevity is
assured. If futuristic racing games are
difficult to pull off convincingly, Г ==
it seems no one has told АТО. 1 —3
Edge rating:
Farmat: PlayStation
Publisher: SCEE
Developer: ATD
Price: £35
Release; March 10
The range of weapons has increased, and these can be powered up by
repeatedly picking up the same icon (not easy when doing 400mph)
The various twoplayer
games (top) provide
plenty of diversion, as
does the oneplayer
Scramble mode (above)
in which you attempt to
clear hazardous tracks
before time runs out
TESTSCREEN
Е CRAZY CUP
Format: PC
Publisher: Infogrames
Developer: Xpiral
Price: £30
Release: Out now
= =r
TA ink ва
ар ==
чачыш
Тһе simplest of the
five categories, Jump
mode proves to be
one of the most
addictive. Expect to
spend a lot of time
trying to beat records
re
LI
Pb
QUOO:OU
Most things in BCC, including opponent AI, are a little rough and ready. Put up with these, though, and you're
rewarded with a challenging videogame which should offer occasional moments of old skool-style playability
gg hough there's nothing about
n »
ЖЫЙ Beetle Crazy Cup that could be
truly be regarded as astound es
videogaming, it has commanded a
strange hold over the Edge of
over the last tew weeks
On the face of it; the graphics
are pretty, although hardly likely to put
an inordinate strain on todays 3D
=] P xem bL asm =
cards. The agonising speed loss that
occurs when your vehicle comes in
contact with а рагпег 15 frustrating
The monster truck challenges are easily the trickiest of the five classes.
Players lacking in patience and videogame dexterity need not apply
72 EDGE
And too many cars understeer as if on
ice. So this isn't a game that overflows
with refinement. But BCC does hav
8 ВЕ of hidden aces up its sleeve
Elbe уч нес НЕ ел Резе =+ d
гПа mosi SIENMCAN hair g tnat It
doesn't take itself too seriously,
which is relief in itself
Wu ke а |н LSC,
Several displicines аге ІП а
cars) on asphalt, American olroadens
On dirt, and beach buggies on a
variety of terrains, or ака part ina
monster truck dexterity challenge,
or nitro a racing mac hine и a ramp
to set car-jumping distance record
Of the game's five racing
Of
categories, two (Monster and Jump)
could stand alone as separate games,
both delivering a brand of old-school
values that ensures replayability
It there's one regret, it's that none
of the other categories offer anything
quite as wildly removed from typica
racing, Granted, each of the Speed,
Dirt and Buggy divisions provides
met four-wheeled competitive
Be
xperiences, but losing one in favour
of a more adventurous replacement
wouldn't have been traumatic
BCC also benefits from a tight
structure, reflecting ts arcade nature.
Bypass the Quick Race option and
focus instead on Championship ant
tne Beetle Challenge моде. The
former is soi tinto three events
of increasing difficulty — which can
inly be opened once the previous
championship is beaten – and
consists of a series of races from the
Speed, Dirt and Buggy categories.
Meanwhile, the latter is
nmistakably the game's core,
categories. Each one contains five
trials to clear. Completing them
qualifies you for the World Beetle
Cup, featuring a race for every
СЕНЕ? That in turn grants access
о the Super New Beetle Challeng
Cash (from posting fastest laps, race
as a further
сеп ће to work your way thrower
the races, allowing you to buy
mproved machinery from the
50-odd models available.
А Dreamcast version would
undoubtedly guarantee better
commercial success, Dut on the
PC this kind of hugely playable,
arcade-inspired stuff is hardly
run-of-the-mill material. If justice
is served, Beetle Crazy Cup will =
carve Its own valuable а
time and winning) works
П
BERSERK
TESTSCREEN
From open areas to tight confines, Berserk superficially encourages players to
һен fighting style. Nevertheless, the button-bashing remains constant
| adapt t
w пе the опе-ог-о ne fig рїп IE
| ІМ
ҺАЙ сатте has evolved in recent
ears, the scrolling beat ет up, опсе
а huge genre thanks to the quality of
Golden Axe and Double Dragon, he
argely stood still. A
no great Strides in wi ig it along
It is undoubtedly attractive,
though. And so it should be,
consider ng ранена capacity
for hi ign
frame rates and lavish textures.
Its sets appear solid and, although
often spartan in terms of furnishing,
they are consistently evocative
solution, smooth
This is fortunate, because you
often olay the role of i
FEE EU
DIE
С DOSE уе
Based оп Kentaro Miura's popular
manga series, Berserk spins an
ambitious yarn, with a heavy amount
of dialogue for an action game. For
minutes between fighting sequences
It pays homage to its original con
form — although it is possible to үзе
n-rails moments
rouble is, Berserk's brawls rarely
border on the spectacular or varied.
Its fusion of Story and gameplay
s no more than a marriage of
convenience, weakly joined by the
mutual use of Miura-san's characters
f these cinematic asides are intended
these 0
to build tension and establisn
emphasis тог spectacular, varied
combat exchange, they та!
d
combos, апо тле!
towards your swir
that the included block Dutton 15
argely redundant. In an attempt to
enliven fights by introducing a
strategy, Guts can only реги
combos with his blade in преп dreds
If he strikes a wall or suchlike mid-
swing, h е pauses, leaving питзеп
vulnerable to attack. The alternative
is to use his fists and a variety of
projectile weaponry
But the collision detection In
Berserk m
5 dismal. Enemies hall
500 ITIETEGE thems Ply е5 into ма I with
alarming regularity and Guts barely
needs to touch his поче to
land a blow. After а set number о
hits, Guts fulfils the titular description
and enters a powered-up mode,
making him far faster and stronger
Only the most inept of players will
fail to clear a particular area before
this status expires,
With littlé in the way of balance,
Format: Dreamcast
Publisher: ASCII
Developer: Yukes
Price: £5,800 (£35)
Release: Out now (Japan)
pico ——— ا
fi
1
In some instances, such as during this boss encounter, Berserk hurls
polygons around with 60fps abandon. If only its gameplay was as slick
and a bare trace of innovation,
Berserk's combat is repetitive. Its
well-cratted aesthetics do lend
M yet the design кя action
едиепсеѕ appears lazy and
uninspired. Worst of all, tne game
lacks a майлы. mode. Surely
this has to be a prerequisite for
a game of this type
Fans of Мішга-зап 5
work will find the
| lengthy cinematic
вгасвір55 execution is its undoing. asides a delight. But
That Eidos has picked it up for P only тон with a к
western release is shocking == grasp о Јарапеѕе WI
Fui truly appreciate it
lr D ei је - سې I5 m deme om e oe e
Like Soul Fighter, Berserk's
Three mt nf fp
IU | №
—
EDGE 7/5
TESTSCREEN
MARIO PARTY А
Format Nintendo 64
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer Hudsonsoft
Price: ¥5,800 (£35) a
Release: Out now (Japan);
May (UK)
Familiar Mario Party elements, such as the chaos caused by Bowser's
appearances, sit comfortably alongside fresh fixtures. Six twoplayer-only
games are incorporated into a batch of near-faultless new mini-games
sij
Rather than jettison the |
mini-games found in |
the original, Hudson
has salvaged the best
for Mario Party 2 - |
these two simple but |
superb games included
71 EDGE
м ultiplayer gaming so often
ЊЕ refers to individuals doing battle
across different cities, countries and
continents. It's heartening to see
Nintendo and Hudson jointly
organising another Mario Party — and
in doing so getting people together
=
nas Carre haa А camo carti
ine central обаго Edi Ti Sectio
ы
remains the most turgid, despit
amm x dixere B ixi <=
ailes ci arn ҮТ =
FT = Па ~" Eni ГЕ = ја > nf = a E i
manner OT snops, eve ges anû
rne eranen Thr Dumas rolling
Га ana C | (Га Г СЕ
ЫН Koil ү. | ف LII ы E
ғар ~ ғұз жан Бі IS ج
[mw га | г — |
= m || ы № тыру Б ЕЦ,
when a olayer gains те opportun
иу EC dL ЛЫ. ШІ ү
to steal match-winning coins and
stars - but an impatience is јен
hanging in the air for that captivating,
end-of-turn mini-game.
And what а joy Mario Party 25
mini-games prove to be. Whether
asking you to accurately count
wandering Bop-Ombs, skip in time
with a burning rope, or tiptoe towards
a sleeping Chomp, the sheer range of
control Systems, graphical styles
and victory conditions called upon
make each game a truly individual,
and highly competitive delight
Sensibly, Hudson has retained
many of the original's most popular
levels, but the developer nas also
reaped rewards by drawing ona
wide range of influences for the
newer games: elements from tities
= PP е Ване Ре ћете sane
аз diverse as РО МЕ, РО Бо dil
nunriant Ann [êlo anne нас
EHWILIETIL U шие appeal 215
been lost іп transporting these
seemingly disparate ideas into
the Mario universe
Weighing Mario Party 2 down
though, is the tiresome need to
spend at least 70 minutes on a single
game. А range of bonus games
aims to placate this, offering a
shorter ride with the emphasis on
mini-games, but the absence of the
option to simply play fewer rounds
on the main board is frustrating
Time spent feasting your eyes
upon Mario's vibrant world is
invariably a pleasure. Hudson has
given the third dimension a meatier
role in Mario Party 2, stretching as
far as a splitscreen, thirdperson tank
battle in one mini-game. Its flair,
ingenuity and sense of humour, in
both 2D and 3D, coupled with
Nintendo's most infamous and
ғтағгігкығійз “Бзғағтнағе тылға Aala
EIE i afarror ==. | onu
Сама = OIOLICTS, ШЛАК, roy
"rmm d егі mien hilari su
ml | e ri
E L: au I aula
te FT tat nie 2c 4 ғұғызға e oF
= LI Eo E BEY
ит әгігір — mewer Реале Toner
E Е d3I је a е "wl | Г ims
с ЧЇ n^n И than РА
seemed more empty Man unng
far arr J enmlm ml = je
мапо ғапу = 5 рау— tnis IS а
thoroughly enjoyable console board
gama. it's proof that blowing up your
friends isn't a requirement to having
fun. Not when you can watch them
being dropped into a біл руа [я
giant metallic mouth instead. Lo
Edga rating:
Seven out af ten
The trials of a Start-up developer: рам 20
After co-founding Lionhead Studios with Peter Molyneux, Demis Hassabis set up his own development house, Elixir Studios.
In the latest instalment of his exclusive diary, he talks about building that all important mood for Republic: The Revolution
Onward spirals
We had a milestone set for the start
of February and we couldn't afford
to lose any time working towards it.
Game development has always been a chaotic process
in the beginning you had three blokes in à room, all doing
a bit of the art, programming and some of the design.
They got away with it because they sat next to each other
and communication wasn't а problem. The game would
only ever be played by gaming enthusiasts who wouldn't
mind if the engine was written by an artist, ог if the sound
was nothing more than a series of minimalist bleeps.
But what do you do? You could always sacrifice
creativity on the altar of MS Project, but that would nat
be much good either. You re creating а spreadsheet
package. You need to leave room for the inevitable
changes in the design. We've got a solution at Elixir
called the spiral cycle
Director Dave Silver explains: "The way we try to
address this problem at Elmir is by using а spiral lite
сүйе for our development. Doing this involves breaking
the development cycle down into stages of increasing
size and level of completeness. Ar the end of each
phase in the spiral there is an opportunity to adjust
with the art in Republic: The Revolution, Every couple
of months we have an art review which results in us
throwing away a lot of good work, to maintain consistency
in the game's word. In terms of the overall style, we've
come a long way from where we were at the start.
Initially, many of the artists were dubious as to the
fun factor associated with creating authentic-looking
eastern European buildings for two years. We had a long
discussion which 15 still going on. My point was that
reality wasn't what we were looking for. Places like
Kiev are in reality little more than adverts for foul ‘605
prefabricated architecture. This is authentic, but is it cool?
'People's idea of eastern Europe may not correspond to reality. We've discovered plans for monumental
communist buildings that were never built, fostering, | hope, the sinister film noir setting the game calls for’
As teams and budgets have got larger, the culture has
struggled to keep up. Games are immensely complicated
and require strict, less glamorous project management.
It's not just а question of efficiency — it’s also about
preventing bloodshed. Every game's team has three
very different and mutually antaganistic components
in design, programming and art.
Artists need the designers to have designed the game
and the programmers їп have finished before they can
start their work. Designers would ideally like to know
what technology they're going to have before they start
designing their game. Programmers need to know exactly
what the designers want before they start programming
it's a recipe for handbags at ten paces. And crap games
| 48 admi
ЕЛІНЕ
IET.
di Ка
ва
4
С
the direction of the project. We assess the major
гегпатиле nsks, and plan out the next phase of
development accordingly.
“This way, we can have a full plan for each stage
that takes account of all the work that needs to be done.
Compromise is also important. It's too easy for artists
and programmers to become insular and parochial in
their indnidual approach to work. The atbtude becomes
"Well, fve done my bit, it's their fault it isn't done’. | loathe
this sort of attitude ~ i! you fail, you fail collectively. ||
yOu can encourage each side to see each other as allies
you've got a better chance al producing a good game
and a happy team"
Over the last few months we've made а Int of progress
The Soviet palace that never made it past planning stage — until Republic artists Tound real life too ugly
| want cities and tawns that reflect the sinister
reality of the game — imposing buildings that enforce
the belief that the man on the street 5 a mere ant. We
spent some time watching and discussing films where |
cityscapes һауе been changed ог tweaked to achieve such
an effect. Starting with Fritz Lang's seminal 'Metropolis,
we looked at "Blade Runner, Batman’ and ‘Seven’, The
cities in each film are recognisably based on real places,
but have been exaggerated to create an atmosphere
conducive to the ideas within the stories.
We also examined pictures of Prague and St
Petersburg. People have an idea of eastern Europe that
may not correspond to the reality — give them what they
want. Even the rundown parts of Novistrana need to look
cool in their own way. Miles of concrete monoliths aren't
going to look good. We're trying to create a look that's
plausible. cool and then realistic, іп that order.
i's been a slow process and we've made mistakes
(pink flats spring to mind!) but the art is getting better all
the time. We've discovered plans for monumental
communist buildings that were never built, such as
lofan's Palace of the Soviets (pictured below left). We've
placed them in the game thereby fostenng, | hope, the
sinister film noir setting that the game calls for
News of Republic: The Revolution seems to have
ruffled а few feathers and several people have expressed
doubts about Tim Clarke's Totality engine. In a creative
industry there are many fragile egos. You run the risk
of upsetting them if you attract what they deem to be
unwarranted attention. It's all very sad — one developer's
success is rarely ta the detriment of another. This has
made us more determined to make the best game we
possibly can. From bitter experience Гуе discovered that
there's always a queue of people waiting to take а pop
EDGE 105
at you, hoping you wall fail, There's only one way
to answer them = prove them wrong.
AUDIENCE WITH
ө в е Ф ә еш е. —
AN AUDIENCE WITH...
| Edge: ts Trick Style the first true
Critenon Studios game?
Edge: Such as?
Edge: Will there be a PlayStation
version of Trick Style?
EDGE 171 _
AUDIENCE ТН.
DLK: We had a recognisable version
running in about а week.
DLK: You might say it was fortuitous
timing in that we were ready to move
But we never had any doubts about
Dreamcast. From first seeing the
development kits we thought it was
going to be а good machine.
DLK: No. There was a let of tittle-tattle
that it wasn't going to sell very well. But
if you went out and talked to the people |
on the street who weren't industry.
insiders, they were excited by it
| DUK: The first games... can | remember
those? Maybe I've purged them from my
| memory! [Laughs] Yeah, it was really just
SUA ox кегін бе етене
‘strength networking component, which
was like using a sledgehammer to crack
a nut! But in terms of a piece ol
DLK: Absolutely. We were building
games only for ourselves. | think it's a |
stage that people with a strong technical
background have to go through,
_ see it with the new spin-off
| companies. You've got smart technical
people doing some really interesting
things, but they have to exorcise this
notion that games can be driven by
technology, You'll hear them say time
and again: ‘Oh, it's all about gameplay
but there's more to it than saying those
| | words — it's translating them into muscle,
DLK: We recently released Suzuki on
which is looking dead cool. It will be
And we've got another game that
probably won't be released until 2001.
DLK: Yeah, probably. We've got a bunch
of other stuff going on with Dreamcast,
too. We're not saying a huge amount
about this at the moment but we're
really intrigued by what Sega has
managed to pull off on the online
side of things.
m six months time! | think there are all
image you might have of a Dreamcast
game. If you ask where games are going,
people tend to reel out this analogy with
the Hollywood blockbuster. There's а
huge amount of truth in that, but |
also think you'll find there's scope for
other styles of game.
DLK: Yeah, or TV programmes ог TV
soaps. Those are tremendously
compelling as forms of entertainment
but they don’t compete with Hollywood.
They are a different kind of experience.
IN THE FUTURE
TELLING A STORY
DLK: I think it's now a misapprehension.
We've shown the first glimpses of that
with Trick Style, The stuff you'll see from.
us in the next couple of years will seal it
DU Yes, ûf course, and this is why we
печелите ма ИЛИ |
к еее ... ... ... вео «ғ. ves
| ША" —
OLK: Absolutely nat. The studio guys
have completely free reign to choose any
technology they like. They can use
Renderware or something else.
DLK: Absolutely. [Laughs] И they want to
build their own technology then
fine, they can go and do that. And there
might be а good reason to. О! course, it
would be a very interesting decision for
us. That's one of the big benefits of
having technology development next to
game development. With technology
development alone, you сап be in your
own corner thinking ‘this is great’ and yet
lose sight of the real world, |
and then there are these vectors units
them is a real art. There are so many
tricks you can pull, so many backdoors.
it's a coding junky's dream.
DLK: Absolutely! The more complicated
the better as far as I'm concemed,
DLK: | don't think so. You think |
something is а bit strange, that they
didn't have enough time to get this bit
THERE 'MIXING' THE GAME,
INSTALLATIONS IN CLUBS
OLK: it's awesome. Quite spectacular.
DUK: Well, is it perfect? Show me а
technical person who finds any platform
perfect. The cute thing about
PlayStation2 is there's so much flexibility
thanks to the arcane nature of the
бөлемін You've got this central CPU,
ee гс...
| Тіней)
right or they skimped а bit on that,
but then you talk to them and they've
thought it through. They've made some
DLK: It would be a mistake for mast
developers to put too much effort into
‘it right now, But it would be a bigger
Mistake not to have someone at the
company conceiving what the future
will be like.
Things will change, without a
doubt. And nat just in terms of
broadband either, but in terms of the |
very social arrangement of games.
One thing we've been thinking about
bringing together all the different
forms of imaging.
DLK: It all stems from the observation
synthesised не: is approaching
that of ПТЕР — synthesised
being natural images. Once the visual
qualities are the same, you have to ask
why you're using a different framework
to process them.
There are certain things you can do
with video footage that you wouldn't
think of doing with 3D graphics - and
there are things you do with 3D graphics
that you wouldn't conceive as being
possible with video. ШЕН
DLK: | think this example brings together | |
AUDIENCE WITH
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the social aspects and the unified
imaging aspects. Once you had records,
but they have been transformed by the
rise of the DJ. The ÛJ is the person who
is conducting this social experience.
Records are being played, but it's the Dr's
interactivity and creativity that is creating
the entertainment experience.
in the future we'll see Gis = game
jockeys. People who аге up there ‘mixing’
the game, presenting the game, telling a
story through it and interacting with it.
DLK: Hmm. Think more "The Matrix. The
quality of the imagery you get in terms
of the live action-stuff and the computer-
generated stuff. What would it mean 10
have somebody take images ol that
quality and mix them in real time and
play around with them in real time?
As a social experience, that's what
gets me going on future games, | want
to experience the euphoria of somebody
else co-ordinating and conducting this
mass event within the form of a game.
OLK: That can happen, but it's а
separate thing. You can have a game
with one person there and the crowd
experiencing it. Another way of doing it
might be to have a mass network with
lots of people coming together,
DLK: In all sorts of ways. How does a
DJ interact with a dubbing crowd?
They're taking feedback from what's
going on and they're mixing it accordingly.
And there is this huge euphoria when
Dis get it right and they move from one
particular beat to another beat.
The same thing is going to happen
with games. You can see the beginnings
in some of the media installations you
see in clubs - the stuff Lori Anderson
does with perlormance artwork.
DLK: In certain games in the future | see
no distinction between the two. | think
the act of participating means that in
some fashion you are creating. You can
see that already in multi-user games.
You're participating but you're also
creating some aspect of the game itself.
DLK: Possibly, but again for me, games of
the future are not so much Dungeons
& Dragons and wizards. | want to be
there, in a club, in this game experience
with some feisty young thing next to me.
When people talk about emotions in
games, | think it's those sorts of things
that we're going to see.
THE CUTE THING
YOU CAN PULL.
[Laughs] I've got to say | have no
privileged information on X-Box.
DEK: Yeah. [Pause] What can 1 say?
| don't know whether Microsoft hasn't
quite forgiven us yet for the graphics API
wars of seven years ago! [Laughs] I think
X-Bax is going to happen because of
what | hear within the industry.
Do | think it should happen? My gut
feeling is по And | also think that if its
Microsoft that's doing it and running it as
the Microsoft we know and love today,
then it won't be as big a success as it
might be. I don't think Microsoft really
understands the consumer in the same
way that somebody like Sony does.
ОК: Sure. | think Bill Gates’ problem is
he can see that his traditional segment
has started to be eradicated because of
the decimation of what it means to be a
PC. It's beginning to segment. That's fine,
but what he needs to до is exploit гасћ
segment — servers with МТ, desktop with
Windows 2000, the embedded market
with Windows CE.
AUDIENCE WITH
THANKS TO THE ARCANE NATURE
OF THE ARCHITECTURE...
DLK: Second best is often good enough.
DLK: No, no. I've got lots of electrical
sackets in my hause that | plug things
into but I've only got one electricity feed
coming in. The server is about
centralisation of information coming into
the household. It’s an information feed
and storage area. But aspects of the
processing and display and so on are
becoming distributed.
DLK: | think if you can own a format,
you will still do incredibly well, The
big problem is it's becoming more
difficult to retain ownership of a format
The stakes are going up for format
holders, just as they're going up for
developers and publishers. But the
point about the balance shifting is a
really interesting one.
If you have various consoles at the
bottom level and see middleware sitting
above that, then what we're providing
at the moment is the 3D part of it. To an
extent, we are mediating access to the
platform. Without а doubt we're finding
that the position we're developing is
one that's stronger and more important
TRICKS
than а straightforward Renderware
play might indicate
We've been talking about this
entertainment device in the future. We
don't know what it is, we only know it's
not a PC. The convergence is coming
from the PC, it's coming from digital
television, from game consoles and
somewhere in there are mobile phones,
too. It all samehow leads towards that
device. What we're doing with
Rendenware is working in every one of
those areas — including mobiles.
DLK: Yep. The only thing we can say for
certain is that technology is dnving
fundamental changes. You can have
images flashing up twice à second... or
you can have them flash up 30 tmes a
second and you've got a томе. It's à
qualitatively different ехрепепсе.
If you take something like
PlayStation2, people go on about how
it's faster and can do more of this, that
and the other. Absolutely, it's a
quantitative change. But sometimes
a quantitative change leads to an
inflection point in qualitative difference.
Because it's able to go much faster,
that allows you to do something
completely different. | think that's ТЕҢ
what we're going to see. ==
ІНЕ VIDEOGAMING VAULT
даа лла тылы D ли = БУР пре н н н p rr MM rmm MÀ тек
LITTLE COMPUTER PERSON
Will Wright's spectacularly evolved Sims тау have moved into the neighbourhood and begun to make a racket (see p66),
but Edge remembers their founding forefather, who was living around these parts when everything was just fields...
“12111111!
Тһе house іп which your virtual friend existed was a bachelor pad іп the great American tradition, replete with record player, piano and home computer system.
Communication was limited to type-written letters. (What did happen to LCP creator David Crane, anyway? Answers, please, on a postcard to the usual address)
b. + + i a d = CE = = = 5
|, the good old days а? 850 gaming, when mags
d — lo зай алын, Duis sec "ih
Were DTE ИЕ? DON, WET) СУ ЖЛЕМГЕРТІЗ
Wit LI 1 TE | TLE а.
ETS SONI! Tes wnose snocking отерао тог Convention
LI ы
saw Them shine among ihe swamps of star екс орескео
shoot em ups and licensed platlonm-Hike achoners
Littie Computer Person was such a release. A virtual
pet simulator that predated the likes of Tamagote hi by
over а decade, the 'game' generated a little house
On-Screen
which rapidly beca
his little di у You gave nam
me hame to a little man
matter of experimentaton, from sending records over to
pig || та EET, чу payme сага gam
g ın tis digital petri dish was not ne
purported to be (few decent simulation
ut here was a plaything with the capability ol - — р- | "h „С سے 1 н ей M rns | | ЖҮ na Li 434 eR АН
inspiring curiosity m even the most jaded
Your little computer person could dance (to music lifted from the likes of Master Of The Lamps), exercise,
play piano, watch TV, talk on the phone, brush his teeth, cook, eat, drink, and do all manner of other things
computer gamer. Legendary, influential stuff
]
Manufacturer: Activision 1985 | Developer: David Crane | Cód/various
116 EDGE
ж жыш ж-а к а шош ааа шалқыта ZUR UN
EDGEVIEW
The videogames world never stands still, riding the breaking wave of advancing technology, In this regular column
Sega's Tom Kalinske and friend.
_ (Note: one of these individuals
| Did they really say that?
the mag, an eight-page feature chronicled |
Apple's chequered history, regaling its
hardcore gaming readers with the beauty
and significance of spreadsheet program
VisiCalc in the grand scheme of things ==
Thank goodness for Sony and its
PlayStation, which was by now in the
process of romancing UK developers on a ЕН
wide scale, а fact Edge recognised with РЕЈ
its report from SCEE's technical workshop,
held in London. Guest of honour was
Teruhisa Tokunaka, then deputy
president of SCEI, who expounded on
the virtues of Sony's choice of storage
medium thus: “PlayStation CD-ROM is like
a MacDonald's hamburger: quick, cheap,
tasty and easy to get another” (He failed
to foresee the other parallel – that, like
MacDonald's, the PlayStation would also
prove capable of captunng the attention
of an entire nation's delinquent =
youth of a Saturday afternoon.) зв
t may seem like something of a ч=п
ІПІ conindichon for the words ‘the
future of interactwe entertainment and
Apple Computer to share space on the
same Edge cover, but issue 18 was
celebrating the company’s decision to
open up its operating system to outfits
traditionally seen as competitors. Inside |
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Did Edge really say that?
И j |! Wii Ti lll =ч
пене E
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Clockwise from top left: an inauspicious start for the Saturn in Japan; the
visionaries at Division attempt to show the world what it's been waiting
Testscreens (and ratings!
| Sega US chief Tom Kalinske: "No matter how great | Who would have thought that Apple and IBM would now | Descent (PC; 8/10), Victory Goal (Satum; 6/10), Return Fire (300;
| Satum is, or PlayStation is, or Ultra 64 is, we will
outsell them by an enormous amount with 527 | business interest" More importantly, who'd have cared?
PIXELPERFECT
was about 16 years old and working as a YTS
butcher, Each day was a gruelling stint lasting
from 6.30am to 6.30pm, | used to carve meat, lift
cuts and serve customers.
During the winter | hardly ever saw daylight =
except for the few minutes that it took me to get to
the slightly sleazy arcade in Walsall town centre, that is.
Here, | remember, they had a few decent
machines — singed Defenders, a broken Tron and
a really loud Star Wars stand-up cabinet. The latter
was my favourite. For just a single coin | could last
out my lunch hour ragging the Empire's Tie Fighters,
battling my way through the surface towers and
making a frantic run along the trench of the Death
Star — again and again,
One day, upon hearing Obi Wan's advice — "Let
во" — for the gazillionth time, | decided to take his
word for it. | travelled the length of the Death Star
trench without squeezing the trigger once
Then, at the last second, | fired my torpedoes
into the vent and made good my escape. | can't
remember the exact title of the bonus awarded (1
think it was à Force bonus or something), but it
changed my perception of the game completely.
К seemed so deep!
Soon after this | had secured а bit of casual
artist work with Elite Systems, based up the road
in Aldndge. It didn't take me long to tell the gaffer
in the butcher's shop where to stick his meat,
and ме never looked back!
not only be talking to each other but would have a common | 8/10), Dark Forces (PC; 7/10), Kileak The Blood (PlayStation; 6/10),
Raiden Project (PlayStation; 6/ 10), Cybersled (PlayStation; 4/10)
Ade Carless (left),
who worked on
the likes of /-War
among many other
titles, admits a
Force allegiance
| О ІЛ th ЕГЕ ) REPORTAGE
A song for Europe
UK: While Japanese arcade-goers have been busying themselves with all
manner of musicled coin-ops over the last few years, from drums to DJ z -
еа тап
decks to electric guitar sims, Konami's BeMani phenomenon nas largely НЕ 77x74 ГЕ
passed western audiences by. That's set to change thanks to Konam
Europe's sterling efforts in localising the game that started it all, Beatmania,
Mindful af the fact that the game's original Japanese score, with its well-
ntentioned but ultimately lightweight bunch of tracks, would not sit well
with Euro audiences, Konami expended around a year's worth of effort in
signing up established westem dance acts and their most prominent work.
Thus, Euro gamers get the opportunity to tap and scratch along to Moloko's
‘Sing It Back, Ruff Driverz's anthemic "Dreaming, and more besides. Best of
all, the Euro version comes packaged with a dedicated controller
Т ——— poe Press |
Ba beat тапа = а n ISTART button |
ااا
Beatmanid's dedicated Euro
controller in all its plastic glory
The westernised version of Beatmania includes funky new self-referential visual motifs (main) and audio
accompaniment from the likes of (right column, from top) Les Rhythmes Digitales, Ruff Driverz and Moloko
Konami's ВеМапі scales up
Japan: As Beatrmania hits the UK, Japanese arcade-goers are now testing
' ғ + ы ч la E ғарғы | 5
the company Japan's top publisher іп 1999). Entitled Кеуроататата, ts
zr dus а сш
the logical next step for the genre. Step forward, budding Jean Michel Jarres.
The latest BeMani coin-op
is a slinky beast. You don't
need any explanation of
how it plays, do you?
|| | а! || J |
ІІ | ІІІ
ШТ "m"
118 EDGE
ГЕНЕ =
Poo-Chi Poo-Chi... poo
Japan: іп the wake of Aibo, Sony's robotic pet dog beloved of techno-nerds
the world over, comes a reply from Sega in the form of Poo-Chi. Retailing in
Japan at the equivalent of around £20, Poo-Chi is the mongrel to its rival's
Shih Tzu, offering an altogether less comprehensive range of responses to 115
owner's commands. Though it's capable of recognising signals in the form of
light, sound and touch (pat it on the head and heart symbols appear in its
electronic eyes), the poor beast can't help looking more 32% than Dreamcast
UK: The success of 1999's Scottish Computer Games
Championship has ensured that this year's event, again
to be held in Perth, 5 ramping up. Sponsored by
Electronics Boutique Group, SCGC 2000 will be held
Е = il i. || ра ч
on Шу 28-31. More detaes doser to the tme
Electronic toy company Tiger
will be bringing Poo-Chi to
the UK in July at around £30
Horror's new point of view
Japan: During experimentation
with a demo version of BioHazard
Code: Veronica, an unusual new
wewpoint came to Іші. Yes,
№5 now possible to blow away
undead freaks from an altogether
more satefying firstperson
perspective. Look out for this
cynically cnbbed element as à
bonus rnode in the final release.
Last year's event (left) featured
several categories, the winner
of each going on to compete
in all disciplines in order to
crown the overall champion
I"
(out there) REPORTAGE
Pocket begins to bulge
Japan: |! someone told you 12 months ago as its latest wave of software attests. Apart from
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: Left to right (by column): Metal
take proven formulae and squeeze them down specialist Quest has produced a Pocket conversion Slug 2, Cool Boarders Pocket,
into portable torn, you may well have laughed. of Ogre Botte, with UEP Systems Cool Boorders Last Blade, Ogre Battle
But SNK's Neo-Geo Pocket Color is doing just that and ESF s Evolution also making the journey. Densetsu, and Evolution
Handheld gaming enters new dimension
UK: Nintendo fans awaiting the Game Boy Advance
in the hope that handheld gaming 15 about to enter
а new dimension need not anticipate any longer,
because Tyrannasaur Tex proves shows just what
the Game Boy Color is capable of when it's tickled in
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|, Using similar techniques to those that made Sega's Mega Drive handle firstperson 3D, Tyrannosaurus Тех gives the Game Boy Color FPS action
Quakers show their oats
US: Like every other honest gamer, Edge staffers enjoy її
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was with a sense of foreboding that Edge checked out the ‘Get Naked
Yes, gentlemen, now put them away. For
the full story, visit www.planetquake.com/
features/articles/naked_a-shtml
Press F13 to start
UK: Horrordoving PC/Mac owners who like to tinker with their desktop
configurations will no doubt shnek in delight а5 they explore the vanous
ophons available in F7
a Stephen KingJicensed release топ Blue
(all of which deliver а mult branching episodical story), test their
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Watch а story unfold
in one of the six
screensavers offered
(above) or opt to
squash dangerous
skeletons of death
Gran TuNismo
Since launching the latest version
of the Skyline GT-R (the stupidly
Swit R34 model of which is
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Going for a
(out there) ВЕРОБТАСЕ
US: Considenng Nintendo's little portable has an audience of 160m ears, it was
only a matter of tme before someone woke up to the potential of introducing
MP3 into the Game Boy mix. Step up the SongBoy, Recently announced at the
CES in Chicago, the accessory plugs into the units cartridge slot, allowing the
handheld to operate as ап MP3 player, similar to Diamond's Rio.
But because the SongBoy uses the secure MP3 standard МРЕ, you will only
be able to download music from its dedicated Web site. And while the first
10,000 downloads of a track will be free, a nominal fee will be charged for
further downloads. Advertising will scroll across the Game Boy's screen when
the player is in use, The screen does allow rics and relevant artwork to be
downloaded, however. Priced at $99 (£62), the standard version of the SongBoy
has 16Mb of memory, enough for around 16 minutes af music. А 32Mb
expansion pack will also be available. Both сап be ordered at www. SongBoy.com.
UK: Another month, another
bundle of game-related figurines
turn up on Edge's doorstep. In
this instance, however, the
merchandise in question isn't the
kind of third-rate tat gamers are
accustomed to, with Sonic, Tails
and Knuckles lovingly recreated in
dinky plastic form. Each character
even comes replete with his own
gold ning. (Edge hasn't worked out
what to do with that yet, though.)
The MP3 revolution rides the back
of the most successful console
ever. Would Nintendo approve?
= fp нек ређи عا
v pte E n
Shouting retro, retro, retro
UK: To the layman it may seem
like lunacy, but tne number of
people who cherish old computer
game soundtracks as if they were
Godly heirlooms stands in the
thousands. And, as with many
groups of hardcore devotees, their
passionis are indulged by like-
minded individuals who're keen to
make а few quid while celebrating
the unusual pastime themselves,
Back In Time || 15 the latest
praduct to pander to these whims.
Running at nearly 74 minutes
in length, the compilation brings
together 15 of the Commodore
64's most beloved slices of game
music including the legendary
theme fram Ocean's Rambo (as
one half of “Galway Is God 2000")
and a remix of Rob Hubbard's
arranged version of the Sanxion
loading theme, "Thalamusik,
which onginally appeared on
‘Back In Time ІІ can be purchased at www.ce4audio.com
a covermounted cassette with Zzap! 64 magazine.
Like most compilations, the inclusions are a mixed bag.
it's difficult, for instance, not to appreciate the haunting tones
of ‘Forbidden Forest and the meandering wibbles af the
dancey "ма! 2000; but ‘Roland's Rat Race’ and 'Rydeen'
will test the patience of a saint. Promusingly, the next
instalment is set to be a more Rob Hubbard-centnc affair.
Stream
by Sega each day: 12,500
Number of Dreamcasts Sega aims
to produce daily by June: 35,000
Amount of money Sega loses per
Dreamcast in Japan: Ұ2,000 (£11)
Number of copies of Sherimue
Chapter 1 sold in the first week
of release: 260,000 |
1999) sold in Japan: 290,000
UK Saturn installed base 214,460
UK Dreamcast installed Базе:
Opposing Force mission pack at
£35'that Haves кірестгі a:
combined pack of HalfLife, Team
Fortress Classic and Opposing
Force at £40: nine weeks
Storm's revenues from 1998 to
|999: 400 per cent
г тан
beriak = ае رت ----. ee
МУ йу.
(out there) MEDIA
Eels
Daisies Of The Galaxy
Dreamworks
Considenng the Eels’ frontman,
Е, has dealt with the death of
his mother and the suiade ої
his sister, the fact that the most
touching song on their new
album is ‘It's a Motherfucker’
should be no great surprise
(a beautiful and sparse track, tt
seems to mark the nadir of his
grief). Much of the album ts
touched by melancholy, but it
remains the saddest happy
record you'll hear all year.
Yo La Tengo
And Nothing Turns Itself
Inside Out
Matador
The best-kept secret of Amencan
rock, Нобокеп 5 Yo La Tengo are
now on their tenth album, with
as little chance of world fame
as their less-than-slick name
suggests. Far from being obscure
for its own sake, they push their
creativity with a fierceness
matched only by Sonic Youth.
This album is one of Yo La
Тепро 5 quietest Hardcore fans
will lap it up. Interested newbies
would do better to:start with one
of their mid- 905 releases.
Kid Koala
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Ninja Tune
Pushing the power of mixed
media, Kid Краја $ album comes
with a comic booklet and a
crude ОЈ version of Asteroids.
The music's also a bit of mixture
- lazy rhythms rub shoulders
with speeded-up vocals and
odd scratches, while the finale
features manic banjo playing,
Reminiscent of early Death in
Vegas, it's certainly not breaking
any new ground, but while it lasts
its occasionally likeable stuff.
t
ш
sher: Victor Gollancz
BN:O 575 06891 4
5
Author: John Barnes
Publi
Author: Alastair Reynolds
Publisher: Vietor Gollancz
ISBN: © 575 06876 0
|МТЕКМЕТ
Site: Penny Arcade
URL: WWW.penny-arcade.com
Videogaming and humour are neither natural
nor happy bedfellows, and yet а quick scan of
the Net reveals a dedicated bunch of individuals
committed to wringing grins out of the раз те
whatever the consequences. The most
successful of an admittedly limited selection has
to be Penny Arcade, a site put together by two
Amencan gametreaks with dearly too much time
on ther hands (three strips appear per week, for
heaven's sake), Best catch it on а good day,
FINITY
As long as there has been recorded history, the school
at ‘what if altematives has followed a few paces in its
wake. It's one of the easiest plat devices available to
the uninspired writer: a cheap twist of fact and voila —
a whole novel 5 npe for the plundering. And, as proved
by Robert Нате ‘Fatherland,’ a few Nazis seem to
guarantee bestseller status.
The latest book from the normally thoughtful John
Barnes at first appears to have fallen prey to this curse.
Set in 2061, in a world shaped by the Nazi's victory in
the Great Reich War of the1950s and the dropping of
atomic bombs on the LISA, the future is the usual mix
of authoritanan control and intelligent machines. It's only
when obscure research scientist Lyle Penpart swaps а
dead-end job Тог a mysterious post at the giant Con Tech
corporation that things start to happen.
His girlfriend sees him in places he physically knows
he couldn't have been. Then she saves his life from an
assassin with combat skills she can't remember leaming.
Additional research shows this fragmenting reality is
related to no one having had recent contact with anyone
ling in America. At this point, Bames remembers he's
writing science fiction. Released from the shackles of
tediously working through the histoncal alternative, the
writing picks up pace. Mixing parallel universe conjectures
with the race to discover whatever happened to Amenica,
Finity comes alive and finally finds its own voice.
REVELATION SPACE
The cover on this debut novel is underscored by praise
from the best British sci-fi writer working at the moment,
Stephen Baxter. There are striking parallels. Like Baxter,
Reynolds is a trained saentist He works at the European
Space Agency as an astrophysicist, Even more important
than the veracity both men bring to their work is their
scope of imagination. Baxter's last book, ‘Time,’ was а
fascinating investigation of the scale and depth of the
universe. And the foundation of "Revelation Space’ is
similar, if contained within a more accessible approach,
Starting in much the same way as Arthur C Clarke's
2001, the book begins as archaeologist Dan Sylveste 15
about to make a major discovery which will have major
implications on the ћштап race. Before һе can complete
his find, а civil war breaks out and he is captured. An alien
warship, equipped with a powerful quantum weapon
called the Cache, is also after Sylveste. Its captain has been
infected with a killer virus that is slowly driving him 10
psychosis. Only Syiveste can save his mind.
Behind this action-packed scenario are the more
serious thoughts of the scientist — why is the universe so
empty? To Reynolds’ credit, he manages to keep both
aspects of the book in balance. Stimng stuff.
ШИЕЛИ
|| ik
"ШІН
EDGE 123
VIEWPOINT
EXPRESS YOURSELF IN EDGE — WRITE TO: LETTERS, EDGE, 30 MONMOUTH STREET, BATH ВАТ 2BW (email: edge@futurenet.co.uk)
IW was interested to read Edge's
| 4! comments (Prescreen, E79)
about how Nintendo and Sega used
to reward gamers with secrets and
bonuses for playing a bit harder.
Nintendo still produces games in
this way on the Game Boy Color.
The graphics are simpler, but a GBC
with Tetris DX, Mario Deluxe, Zelda
DX, R-Type, Conker, Pokémon, Game
& Watch Gallery 2 and Mario
Golf will keep the fussiest casual
or hardcore gamer happy for
months. Even years.
Not everyone can be bothered
with learning a complicated
control system and walking around
aimlessly for more than two
minutes. Perhaps developers
should consider making their
next game simple and linear
rather than another epic.
Andy Scheuber,
Stevenage
»u would like to question each
and every gamer reading this
magazine. Do you still like games as
much as you used to? Bar a few
really outstanding titles recently,
such as Zelda and Half-Life, | find
myself less motivated to switch on
the PC/console and play.
The vibes that come from most
new games now are of a stale,
genre-worn nature. I'm not sure that
the user is going to hold out for
much longer. Dreamcast owners
(including myself) cannot honestly
say that the machine has brought
innovation with its 128bit visuals
(Shenmue excused for now). The
promise of ‘emotion engine’
technology in PlayStation2 sounds
like Sony realises this only too well.
Let's hope that it works, ог | for
one will have to find another
interest. | urge readers to inspire
124 EDGE
me with a reason for optimism.
The only game | still actually enjoy
playing is Tekken 3. It might sound
daft but | now enjoy playing
Pokémon with my younger siblings
more than gaming.
Simon Nicolaou,
via email
‚ s the whole videogaming
ЛЕЗ
ТІ! |
ІШІ
| world just waiting for the next
п Га L^ Teal
generation age to arrive? | have
been into videogames since the
Bbit days. Each new machine and
the arrival of a new console or
computer has been an earth-
shattering event.
they aren't blowing me away. |
remember the smile on my face
the first time | turned on Super
Mario 64, or Tomb Raider and the
earth moved, but even with titles
like Soul Calibur | can't help
thinking Tekken 3 does it better on
my 32bit hardware. | can only hope
that Dolphin/PS2 returns things to
how they should be.
And you can tell that Dreamcast
We knew you'd be pleas:
stems controversial Pro-DG de
hat Edge is a sexist publication?
was never going to set the world
alight because of one simple rule:
a new console needs to blow PC
games of the time out of the water.
Sony's debut machine did this, as
did the first Amigas. Dreamcast
‘Inspire me with a reason for optimism.
The only game | still enjoy is Tekken 3. It might
sound daft but I enjoy Pokémon with
my younger siblings more than gaming’
| walk into Game at the moment
and there is no buzz. | find it hard to
get excited about PlayStation or N64
games any more. Even the best
Dreamcast games are nice, but
doesn't seem to be able to do
anything that a well-programmed
РЇП can manage.
David Walker,
via email
| f Australian Dreamcast owners
ІШІ сап take any consolation,
it's that they are not the only
owners of a system with its trump
card (online connectivity) not fully
sorted. Holland's army of gamers
who bought into Sega's dream
were met with a suspicious
coupon rattling around inside the
blue box, which made it clear that
the console's online facilities
would not be functional until
well into 2000.
Prospective DC Internet users
must now stop by their nearest
retailer in March and hand over
the coupon in exchange for their
Dream Passport GD-ROM – an
item which should have been
available in the box.
Perhaps Sony's decision to
release the PlayStation2 without
such things as standard isn't going
to be the huge deficiency many
people make it out to be.
Dan De Matteis,
via email
| t has been hard to ignore the
ІШ constant bickering between
so-called casual and hardcore
gamers. | am grateful that casual
gamers have made the industry as
big as it is today,
My message to hardcore gamers
is stop moaning that the chart is
dominated by Tomorrow Never Dies
and FIFA, happy in the knowledge
that you have bought neither, and
have spent your cash on unlicensed
gems such as Medal of Honor.
Games charts are becoming
increasingly similar to the music
charts. The best songs and games
often don't get to number one. Are
Westlife really better than John
Lennon? Music inspires young girls
to buy countless boy band singles,
Е eee
while games have teenage boys
buying every FIFA title.
It is a shame that good games
don't always get the sales
recognition that they deserve, but
that's life. Rise above the hype.
Do what you supposedly love:
play good games.
Lee Hawley,
via email
ith reference to SN's advert on
w p36 of ЕВО), | think you should
cut down on the sexist advertising.
Paul Tapper,
email
Edge isn't sexist. Just to prove it,
let's balance things up by printing
SN's other ad (left). Happy now?
t the bottom of 'Videogaming:
The Odyssey' (EBO) was the
second system | ever bought – the
NES. (The first was the great
Colecovision, with games such as
In the Hall of the Mountain King.)
When the first NES came out in
the States, the machine was
accompanied by R.O.B. (the robotic
2nd player that never seemed to
work but looked cool) and later,
the Zapper. Of course, the Zapper
wasn't revolutionary, which is why
you didn't feature it. But the robot
should have been included. Most
people would have got a kick out
of seeing that old plastic box.
| would still love to know what
R.O.B. stands for, and whether
Europe or the UK got it.
Shannon Clouston,
via email
R.O.B. stands for Robotic Operating
Buddy. And yes, it did make it to the
UK. Where it died on its backside.
H aving played the wonderful
GT for many hours in its
Japanese guise, | waited with
anticipation for the release of 072.
Finally, in January, the postman
delivered an American copy. We
booted it up and gasped at the
great new intro and theme tune
and arrived at the slick menu
screens. But as the camera jerkily
panned across the starting grid
and the awful sound banged out
we wondered what had gone so
horribly wrong.
The crisp update of the original
had been replaced by tediously
slow framerate and blocky graphics.
The sensation of speed has
disappeared, unless playing the
time trial option. The best part of
he ts the source of all evil.
Alan P Thorpe,
via email
WT was surprised to read the
alll letter in ЕВО stating that PC
gamers must be ‘slightly ignorant or
very dedicated’. This in an issue
where a PC game was the cover
story! I've owned almost every
console that's been out since
the Atari 2600, barring the Neo-
Geo, and that includes handhelds
and imports. | find myself
somewhat disinterested in the
next generation of consoles as
immediate must-haves.
I'm a computer animator. For
‘My friend was forced to be ем! as | was
forced to be good. So we swapped Issues. | bet
many readers ended up displaying
the alignment that they deserved’
GT was the close racing against the
computer-controlled cars and the
feeling of driving down a straight at
150mph. All is not lost, though – the
buy-your-own-wheels shop is cool.
Benjamin Burton,
via email
Yes, G72 is a disappointment. And
the moon is made of cheese.
lever that ‘choice of cover
44 thing — choose your allegiance
at the newsagent. Only one small
problem. Subscribers. My friend was
forced to be evil and І was forced to
be good. So we swapped issues.
| am confident that other
readers ended up, one way or the
other, displaying the alignment
they deserve. Oh, and | hope to
Gad that Seth B from Viewpoint
a few months ago received an
evil cover, for | know him and
me, consoles are a great way to fill
those test render gaps between
work periods. | get instant
satisfaction gaming with them, but
my PC gets the quality after-hours
time. | have been playing
multiplayer games for years, on the
Internet and over LANs. Frankly |
can't see how a system that still
relies on a NTSC/PAL screen is ever
going to beat my hi-res monitor.
Even an HDTV monitor will not let
you play at 1280x1024, which for
strategy games makes a huge
difference. Nor is a static box ever
going to compete with my
constantly evolving one.
Sure, a kitted-out PC is an
expensive habit, but so is a Jag.
As for Japanese game designers,
І have a huge amount of admiration
for Mr Miyamoto, but Molyneux,
Carmack, Meier, Roberts, (the
admittedly recently fallen) Lord
British and the rest of the gangs at
Rare, EA, Bullfrog, id and many
other non-Japanese companies
certainly deserve credit. Anyone
who can afford to play оп a
computer and doesn't is the one
who's really missing out.
Chris Subagio,
via email
| hen AOL and Time Warner
ай merged, there was a great
outcry of voices singing the
multimedia signature tune. Every
day, reports on the news draw
closer to the world of videogames,
which seemed protected from the
outside world not so long ago.
Something | thought was mine and
shared only with a few is now
heading for mass market.
| can see the PlayStation2
being in the headlines soon, like
Final Fantasy VII was two years ago.
| can see the broadsheets featuring
videogames in their art sections
alongside films and music within
a few years. Lara Croft is talked
about like a film star, the PlayStation
comes up in business meetings,
and Richard and Judy casually drop
Mario into daytime television.
| am torn between the
excitement of future creations and
a strange longing for the past when
videogames weren't something
that were dissected and analysed
in the mainstream media. | wonder
if anyone else feels the same?
Nathan Baseley,
via email
But how can anyone not see the
value in ‘Frag Your Neighbour
With Richard And Judy’?
Н ave | missed something? | like
| to think that I'm reasonably
EDGE 125 №
well informed about the world
of videogames and computer
entertainment in general, but I'm
starting to think that | must have
missed a major news story.
Virtually every letter | read in
Edge seems to be treating the
PlayStation2 (and Sony in general)
as if itis the root of all evil or
something. Huh? Did Sony commit
some major crime while | wasn't
looking? Even Edge seems to have
some sort of problem with this
machine, presenting its prediction of
Sony's success like an unavoidable
but inevitable disaster. One format
dominating the whole videogames
industry would not be a good thing,
but this doesn't mean that a format
that is in danger of doing so should
be treated in such an unfair manner.
| have owned virtually every
major console since the Sega
Master System and | also have a
PC. Out of all these formats, | think
the PlayStation is the one | look on
with the most fondness. My N64
has some excellent games, but little
overall software. My PC hasn't yet
run a single game that I didn't
need to chase down a patch for,
and | still haven't forgiven Sega for
all that money | spent on a Mega
CD! So why pick on Sony, the
company which has more than
delivered on its promises?
Are videogame enthusiasts
jealous that their activity is being
brought to a much wider audience?
Stephen Wasling,
via email
ith the PS2 poised to become
wW videogaming's hardware
standard, | was interested to
observe that not one of the titles
in your ‘100 Best Games’ list was
developed by Sony, and that only
4 126 EDGE
one of them was published by SCE.
I don't think anyone could make
a reasonable case for the inclusion
of any piece of Sony software. Sony
has been in the business for getting
on six years — and what has it
contributed to developing original
games? Not a great deal. It has
established a peerless platform for
their fingers in that particular pie?
І know that there are considerable
royalties to be made from thirdparty
licensing, but does that really
outweigh the risk and cost
of designing, developing and
marketing a new piece of hardware?
Sony is moving into new
territory with the Р52, and is far
ти
David Steer thinks it's time for Sony's rivals day and watch PS2 dominate
others to innovate on, but when
was the last time you heard Philips
congratulated on the content of an
album recorded on its CD system?
Software is what matters. Sega and
Nintendo have been the Beatles
better structured to deal with it
than its rivals. Maybe it is time for
Sega and the big N to drop out
of this particular competition. Sega
has already indicated that it could
take a software-only path in the
‘Why pick on Sony, WHICH паз more than
delivered on its promises? Are videogame
enthusiasts jealous their favoured activity
is being brought toa wider audience?’
and the Stones of gaming.
Edge has stated in the past that
there is little money to be made
from hardware. That it is merely a
platform for the more profitable
software division. So why are Sega
and Nintendo so keen to keep
future. Maybe it's time for
Nintendo to follow suit. Both
could concentrate on the areas
they excel in and watch the
royalties roll in.
David Steer,
London
М ideogames as art? Listening
to a record | hadn't played
for 10 years | thought how different
it sounded, with more depth and
more structure, and then |
wondered how many games can
you go back to and discover new
experiences or moods within the
existing structure in the way you
find with both music and art? It's
not the game that's changed but the
player. Only a very small number of
the top 100 games you presented
have the ability to offer such an
experience, but | don't think they
were designed to anyway, due to
the nature of the technology
available at the time. However,
| see this changing with the
introduction of 128bit hardware
and better Al routines.
With the ever-increasing turnover
of titles across all platforms |
wonder how can we, the players,
maintain the pace of being at the
cutting edge? Personally, | will not
be rushing to purchase the next-
generation consoles while | still
have a large number of half-finished
or barely played titles across the
32/64bit platforms and PC. What
will | be missing? Apart from the
improved graphical presentation
of games | don't think there will be
many groundbreaking ideas, just
more of the same genres. | intend
to give my existing games the
respect they deserve by not
discarding them prematurely
(especially those on the N64),
and look forward to the next 'next-
generation' releases to be thrilled
by videogames once again.
Robert Oldfield,
via email
So you're going to forsake Dolphin
in favour of the N64. Right. Okay.
Nurse!
would like to praise your
"100 Best Games’ (E80).
When gaming history started in the
late "705 we didn't know any better
than Pong or Space Invaders. A
game's age does not necessarily
mean it is great. Pong in its time
was great. Now we find it boring.
Some of these games were
influential, but not always fun.
We may be about to see a next-
generation machine, but who
knows where we are in the
evolution of games? Today's games
may be dull compared with what
we will play in 15 years' time.
Would the first talking film be in
a 100 Best Films list? No. What
makes a good game is its gameplay.
You might argue that Tetris is
boring and similar to Pong, but one
is addictive and the other is not —
because Tetris has good gameplay.
| would never place Super Mario
Kart where Edge does, but | am
pleased to see you rate Final
Fantasy Tactics that highly.
Mark Philpott,
via email
| am glad to see Defender and
| Tetris іп Едре 5 '100 Best
Games’ – but horrified to find the
top three spots taken up Бу №64
games. GoldenEye is enjoyable, but
do you really think it betters Half-
Life? И must be hard to name the
greatest, but Zelda is no patch on
Final Fantasy VII. What happened to
the great classics — Attic Attack and
Jet Set Willy on the spectrum? If the
chart is based on playability, not
many games have been played
more than these two classics.
One of your crew states his
greatest game is Elite on the Amiga.
How dare he take that from the
BBC Micro Model B! That will always
be known as the BBC Micro's
greatest contribution to computer
games. And, unlike the failed PC
version, it has optional missions and
gives you more freedom.
Josh Gardner,
via email
"ww great game is something a
лы] lot of people can play and
feel a sense of achievement and
enjoyment from. Tetris and Street
Fighter ЇЇ rate favourably in this
definition. The most important
factor is accessibility. Tetris is
‘Edge has laid out its hardcore stall –
where development and technical scope outweigh
simple gameplay. The high inclusion of
Tetris and SFil merely indulges that game style’
Sorry, Beeb fans. That was a
disgraceful oversight.
wa our Nintendo-kissing "100
М Best Games’ describes Exile
as great, but says it was written
for the Amiga - wrong! It was a
BBC Model B game, later
simplicity itself, Street Fighter ТІ,
though taking time to gain
competence, gives everyone a
favourite character. Even a novice
could beat a pro unfamiliar with his
or her technique, There is no
doubting the genius of Zelda:
Ocarina of Time, but it does
Daniel Hargreaves believes Edge's inclusion of Street Fighter II was a token gesture
converted to the C64 and Amiga.
Robin Jubber,
via email
Of course it appeared on the BBC
first. That's no secret. But the list
was based on the definitive
version in each case.
not encourage participation on а
communal level, And for all its
immersiveness, it remains a
оперіаует experience and demands
enormous perseverance.
Edge has laid out out its
hardcore stall – where development
and technical scope outweigh
simple gameplay. The high inclusion
of Tetris and SFI! merely indulges
the type of gaming these titles
represent – like an Etonian
attending a Millwall football match
as a bit of cultural tourism. Its
admiration really lies with
intellectual genius, such as
Miyamoto, who produces superb
yet elitist experiences for those with
sufficient patience and pedigree.
Daniel Hargreaves,
via email
You're quite welcome to visit the
Edge office and indulge in a spot
of Tetris and Street Fighter 11
against the team. Then we'll see
who's the 'cultural tourist.
= he '100 Best Games’ was а
И.М fantastic read, but | was in
shock that no Championship
Manager games made it in. | know
many people like to think of it as
simply a well-dressed spreadsheet,
but it is the only series of games
that has kept me hooked at times
when | should have been asleep.
Also, why did Elite only come in
at 63? Looking at what is below it,
(The Need For Speed) you can see
how misplaced this absolute classic
is. The latter is an accomplished
title but | am sure Electronic Arts
would admit that Elite has had
more influence on its almost
undefined genre than the 300
game has on the racing genre. |
was pleased to see Death Tanks in
there, though. That is possibly one
of the best multiplayer experiences.
Mat Thomas,
via email
Football management games? Just
feel fortunate that Едре 5 editor's
vote for Brian Clough's Football
Fortunes was shouted down.
T hank you for not including the
Jl two most hyped computer
games of all time, Myst and Riven,
in the ‘100 Best Games. My favourite
mag is written by sensible people.
James A Jack,
Amsterdam
yey ools! No mention anywhere
F in your “100 Best Games’ of
SquareSoft's finest game, Chrono
Trigger. This game (I'm talking
about the SNES original)
singlehandedly whoops the ass of
the entire Final Fantasy series. Half-
Life took me five days, two stuck on
the same level due to a bug. | spent
three months on Chrono Trigger.
Directhex,
via email
It's arse, not ass.
Y our '100 Best Games'
|) Г
‘em ир genre. Three outstanding
overlooks the scrolling beat
exponents spring to mind – Final
Fight, Double Dragon, and Streets
of Rage 2. Each one features perfect
controls, balanced gameplay and an
equally brilliant one or twoplayer
mode. The punches and kicks are
totally convincing,
Playing the sequels to the latter
two (playing Streets of Rage 3 has
possibly been my biggest gaming
anticlimax to date) or more recent
examples of the genre only
emphasise how good these games
are. There are few gaming
experiences to match completing
Streets of Rage 2 on the hardest
setting with Мах — its relentless
bodycount is probably only
surpassed by Doom. Was this genre
or these games considered?
Andrew Haigh,
via email
Absolutely. But when push came to
128 EDGE
shove, nostalgia was not allowed to
rule over anything else.
ЕЗ ome glaring omissions in your
BSA 100 Best Games’: /К+, UN
Squadron, Revenge of Shinobi –
some of the most beautiful and
balanced games created. Forgotten
gems: Batman Returns, Hellfire,
gw '100 Best Games’ should have
A a Jordan Mechner design in it.
Karateka aside, if Tomb Raider
makes the cut, then Prince of
Persia must. The real omission
is his beautiful alternative to 3D
polys, The Last Express. It has
failed commercially because
Mechner has grown up and the
Helal Miah can't fathom how Dungeon Master failed to
Super Ghouls & Ghosts, Batman
The Movie, Actraiser.
The most fun genres overlooked:
the scrolling beat 'em up (Final
Fight, Golden Axe, Streets of Rage
II), the overhead shooter (Mercs,
customer base hasn't.
David Lockwood,
Leamington Spa
L еї'5 face И, everybody loves
reading a ‘100 Best Games’,
"Let's face it, everybody loves reading
a '100 Best Games' but nobody agrees With them –
a wise man once said, "opinions
are like arseholes – everybody's got one
Dogs of War). Most overrated genre:
boring old twitch games - Asteroids,
Robotron, Bubble Bobble, Super
Pang. Fun for five minutes. Tempest,
Galaga and Defender last longer.
Marcus Koivula,
Finland
F
but nobody agrees with them —
a wise man once said, "Opinions
are like arseholes — everybody's got
one.” I'd agree with nearly
everything in the chart. As an old
C64 owner it was a pleasure to
see Paradroid — even my old man
used to spend hours on this while
| was busy doing homework. Did
Carrier Command (Amiga/ST)
come into consideration at all?
MR,
via email
Yes — like so many games, it was
hovering just outside the 100.
Maybe Edge's list should extend to
200 next time. Actually, maybe not.
y main gripe is the exclusion
of the 16bit-era Dungeon
Master (on the Amiga and ST) in
your "100 Best Games. І have yet to
see a spell-casting system as
innovative. Its puzzles, the huge red
dragon, and being able to control
the difficulty by taking on one
character instead of the usual four
are all absorbing. How could you
forget the shrieking mummies?
In three years, there has not been
an issue of Edge ! have not enjoyed.
You are the Dungeon Master of
computer gaming magazines.
Helal Miah,
via email
amy here was Mortal Kombat in
Ww your list? | admit, it was hardly
a masterpiece, and | can think of
other defining moments in
videogaming history, but | can't
think of one piece of software more
important given the ever-enduring
violence in videogames' debate. It
virtually set it all ablaze. Oh, and the
revolutionary digitised sprites did
realistically recreate a gore-hungry,
nine-foot tall, four-armed орге to
near perfection.
Realism in computer games?
| can't think of a better example
than Mortal Kombat.
Andrew Somerville,
via email
Please say this is a joke. Please
ISSUE 83 ON SALE MARCH 20 OVERTHEEDGE
1
It’s what the world has been waiting for. But has all the hype been |
worth it? Or are Sony's promises of emotional complexity and
previously unexplored gaming experiences ultimately empty? у
Find out next month, when Edge presents а 24-page Gedicated
PlayStation2 software supplement, giving hands-on reports of 20
of the first wave of next-generation videogames direct from Tokyo.
130 EDGE
4
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